There will come a time in every company where growth may become uncomfortable – like growing pains. Just like the ones you experienced as a teenager, these can also be overcome with time and some assistance.

Besides understanding what a company needs to grow – more employees, certain laws to be followed, and scalability. Scalability is important as we consistently trying to do more with less. So what does HR do that may be a little different than the way you view growth? We break it down into four essential areas which need to be worked on. These same practices HR has to handle the growth are the same ones you can use in other areas of the business.

This where HR come to the rescue. Essential areas to work on:

Define culture. Every company has a “personality” or how it gets things done. If not clearly defined how will you know if you are getting people who will be best for the company and clients? How will you know who can successful? How will your clients know who you are? The culture appears in all areas of business, you need to make sure it shows up the way you want it to.

Think forward. It is easy to get caught up in the needs of today. Take a step back and determine what you want to be “when you grow up”. Looks at the company as a whole – who are the customers/clients, services to offer, infrastructure to support the goals, and people needed to make it happen. Where are your gaps? How to bridge? How much time is needed?

Standardize. This is about consistency in product, service, and details. Does everyone present things the same way or does each have their own style? Think of customer service, time to respond to emails, phone greetings, presentations, quotes, letters, marketing material, etc. This will create a consistent brand image and set expectations on what you deliver.

Systematize. Policies and procedures are key here. It takes the guess work out of how something is done. For example: do you want each person using their own expense form and having accounting trying to figure it out? No, it’s a waste of time. If there is a methodology to what you do – write it out and have others follow it. This is about efficiency.

Ease your growing pains and start implementing these strategies.

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