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The Good News is You’re Growing!
By Marsha Lindquist
The bad news is that you’re growing. Good business problems. Don’t we all dream of those days. It seems that you’re always trying to strike a balance between getting new business with staffing that business once you get it.
One of our clients, JM Waller & Associates, successfully staffed quickly to meet their 40% growth recently. It took planning and common sense. Here are a few of their tips.
1. Plan fiscally, act swiftly. Make an annual economic plan but when events overtake the plan, react swiftly with your financial institution. Work with them on your working capital needs as your growth unfolds but also keep them apprised of your strategy as you develop it.
2. Widely publicize your staffing requirements. Whether you win new business or grow existing work quickly, it’s big news. Don’t be shy about it and be specific about what you are seeking. JM Waller & Associates identified their needs, investigated the market, interviewed mightily, made offers immediately, and publicized their predicament. Most of the time your resources are wider than you think. If you are an aggressive and forward-thinking company, you often have some resources identified in anticipation or from people you know, while the remainder will likely come from the talent you promote from your organization.
3. Know your client and bring in the best. Hire the most talented people and pay them generously. Find out upfront what your client is looking for and get to know their needs. By knowing this you can begin scouting before you actually need them.
4. Build infrastructure as you need it. Find physical necessities from companies that are on their way out. Centralize some functions for efficiency.
5. Demonstrate your professionalism to your clients and potential employees. When the new client arrived for a meeting at their local office, Waller assembled the entire 30 employee entourage to greet them. With the electricity out, telephone lines down, and no coffee for the meeting, all were pressed and ready at the building entrance. Amazed by their adaptability and spunk, the client was duly impressed. Their hiring rate exceeded 85% as they presented crisp benefits folders and company history to all.
Handling the influx of customer demands is a dilemma only if you see it that way but it certainly does challenge a company when it happens. Be prepared for it with the right attitude, a plan, and an eye towards turning that problem into an opportunity.
About the Author
Marsha Lindquist, a business strategist for over 15 years, draws on her proven “down in the trenches” experience, creativity, and participative manner to provide real solutions to businesses to assist them in building and growing their businesses. She is an energetic presenter and is also the Chief Executive Officer of The Management Link, Inc. As well as being the author of “Why Are You Still Working Your A** Off?”, she has written and published several professional journal articles on business strategy and negotiations. She can be reached by E-mail at Marsha@MarshaLindquist.com
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