Even trickier is finding people who are not only right for your business now, but also into the future, especially when you don't know what that future holds. When your business is ready to expand, you need to make sure your people have the capacity to expand with you.
While losing people along the way, and picking up more suitable people is probably inevitable, hanging on to your trusted and experienced employees is a great idea. Loyal employees who have been with you since the early days can be extremely valuable, but while some will relish the challenge that expanding businesses can bring, others may need a little bit of work to help them cope with the culture shock.
Staff training can help you overcome what could be a big obstacle to your company's future success. Why?
First of all, staff training equips your employees with the new skills they will need to operate a larger business. Maybe your trusty and highly talented office administrator has now found themselves heading up a team of office administrators, each with a specialist role.
Just because they are brilliant at admin tasks doesn't mean they are confident in managing others. Training them in management skills will give them the confidence to give their new job a try. You get someone who knows your business inside out and is able to lead others along the way.
Secondly, training shows you are committed to your business and to your staff. By investing in training, you are showing your staff you are serious about developing them and the business and want to keep them on board with you. It promotes loyalty and improves morale. Morale promotes increased productivity - important when you need to expand.
Thirdly, staff training can change the whole culture of an organisation. When you go from being a small business to a large business, you need to think like a large business. Just sending a couple of employees on an off-the-shelf IT course won't cut it. Many growing business have used programmes which use workforce analyses to identify skills gaps, and design whole-company training courses tailored for their specific business. These courses bring all employees together and heading in the same direction. The company is no longer a collection of individuals doing little, separate operations, but about working together toward the same goal.
If your business is looking to expand, then keeping the right people on board is essential. Good, considered staff training has to be at the core of your development plans.
