 |
|
Building a Team... Driving an Organization Over the years I've had the privilege of working with a number of small privately owned, or formerly privately owned businesses. I never cease to be fascinated how the dynamics of relationships create both business opportunity as well as risk in smaller organizations. The opportunities often present themselves based on the shared values, vision and principals by which many employees in a small business operate. Interestingly, the risks are often the result of those same things. One of the most difficult issues any business faces surrounds the questions of if, when and how to bring in additional talent to grow the business. The constant temptation is for current employees to take more and more on their shoulders, whether they are prepared to or not. Other times organizations decide that they need outside help but are at a loss as to how to identify the types of individuals who can add value while respecting the dynamics of the business. Some of the more successful organizations I've worked with seem to have a "formula" they follow when bringing in outside management. Some of the most critical elements of that formula include:
When an organization has this focus a number of interesting things begin to occur. Consensus around "who we are, where we are going, and what we want to be" develops. From that a clear path evolves as to the type of skills which will be needed to drive the business forward.
This next step is a critical one in setting a company up to build the enterprise with the type of skill base and character required. Those organizations that are clear in their definitions have much better "luck" at finding the right sorts of people to bring in to the organization's critical roles. And of course, luck has nothing to do with it. As with any well thought through strategic plan, defining the goals, the gaps and the desired outcomes tends to lead to a successful result.
Careful analysis of how and where to find the talent is critical to quality hire. Business leaders that are pro-active in nurturing critical relationships can often network among their advisors, professional associations and the like to find the right folks. Retaining an executive search firm to conduct a search is also a viable alternative as they have the capacity to source a number of industries and/or competitors without creating an uncomfortable situation for the business owners or leaders. Meaningful search strategies rarely include recruitment advertising. Advertising is a passive activity in which the business becomes dependant on selecting from only those who respond to the advertisement; often those candidates do not meet the job specification. Strategically networking or using a firm allows the organization to "go after" the talent it actually needs and select from a slate of qualified candidates. Compromising on critical skill sets, character or experience invariable leads to a bad outcome. Strong organizations avoid those particular compromises.
Selling the company, the vision and the team to potential candidates is essential to getting the right folks in place. Generally the people that are targeted for recruitment are not looking for a job, have a successful career and need to be wooed. On the other hand, the best companies don't sell themselves while sacrificing quality interviewing. They plan the interviews well, define questions in advance and conduct due diligence with a level of intensity equal to what they would use when making a business acquisition.
Once the final candidate has been identified, the stronger businesses move quickly to "close the deal". They then develop an integration plan. This is crucial in any business, but particularly when bringing someone from the outside in to a small business. Some employee roles may be narrowing, others expanding. Honestly dealing with the potential emotional and career consequences of this for employees makes the companies that do this well shine. Last but not least, a parallel activity occurs, "organizational development". What that translates to are the structures, systems and personal development plans that will be modified or put in place for incumbent leaders as external managers begin to become part of the fabric of the company. Often the challenges that are involved in bringing outsiders in discourage small businesses from trying. But those who are focused, stick to a system, communicate openly and when needed, use outside advisors/facilitators can create organizational development norms that will allow them to thrive through decades to come. |