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Hiring talent with an entrepreneurial spirit helps foster the same culture of innovation that takes a company from idea to fruition. As an HR leader who strives to employ true self-starters – those who take initiative and are eager to see the impact of their work – I have seen these traits contribute to the successful scaling of their companies.
Candidates identify with this work culture. Let’s face it: no one wants to feel like a small fish in a big pond where nothing they say or do matters. Part of the appeal of working for a company that’s still in its growth phase is that you can have a real influence on shaping its development. This environment fosters opportunities that go beyond a job description – for both the employee and the company, and enables the entrepreneurial spirit to spread throughout the company.
New and growing businesses need to understand that scaling requires different skills than the early stages of starting a business from scratch. There are four keys to success when it comes to taking a business to the next level.
Related: 3 Strategies to Optimize Your Hiring Process and Find the Best Employees
1. Let go of control
Filling positions at the next vertical level often requires external hires. How do we combine the historical knowledge within the company with the experience we bring from outside? The answer lies in partnerships that tap into people’s entrepreneurial mindset – the initiative to question, test and experiment with orthodoxies. Then give them room to succeed. There is nothing wrong with initially not understanding a new methodology.
My advice to new managers is: Hire. We want people who are smarter than us so they can tell us how to improve functions like finance and sales. Take advantage of the expertise they have acquired elsewhere. By instilling an entrepreneurial mindset in our employees, each role can add greater value than we could have predicted.
2. Get SMART with the strategy
Entrepreneurs need a strategic plan to be successful, but I’ve seen many companies that don’t really know what they want. Success can come quickly, but so can failure. As an entrepreneur growing your business and hiring new positions, your job is to set the “North Star” – the clear expectation of where you want to go and how you will hire the right people to get there. This involves planning goals for the next five years and giving the people you hire the freedom to set the goals for each of their departments with that North Star in mind.
One way to determine a strategic hiring plan is to use the SMART technique: Is it specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-oriented? If a company hired 100 people last year and wanted to hire 200 this year to accommodate expansion, this goal would meet many of these criteria. Executives in hiring positions must start from their business goals to ensure they are hiring the right people who can help the company achieve and execute that strategic plan.
Related: SMART goals may be holding you back—try this effective goal-setting technique instead
3. Listen more
Beyond just the HR team, managers and other leaders must agree to honestly listen to employees’ ideas and concerns. Turning a vision into reality is tedious, requires honest conversations with stakeholders and learning to look through different lenses. Those of us in leadership positions need to ask ourselves: Am I always shooting down other people’s ideas? Can I accept constructive criticism?
If not, there are many training programs available to develop active listening skills. Additionally, entrepreneurs need to work with other entrepreneurs. So find resource groups where entrepreneurs can share what worked for them or when they needed to make the switch. Finally, make yourself as accessible as possible. Personally, I really enjoy it when people come into my office and leave laughing because I know they feel safe enough to express their opinion.
4. Combine creativity with data
In the age of AI, creativity alone is not enough. Using data to show why your hiring and people initiatives are both strategically and financially responsible is critical to the success of your scaling efforts. At the same time, it can be easy to get so caught up in the data that you become risk-averse. So use data to empower and validate your creative ideas, not to suppress them.
Data is as much about figuring out where you might need to move as it is about figuring out why a creative attempt might fail. Analyzing data such as employee attrition, tenure, productivity, etc. Ensuring your hiring practices are optimal is critical to fostering the right company culture needed to scale and succeed. Where the numbers could be improved, use this as a lesson or guide for the future. If your employee turnover isn’t as high as you’d like, find out why, take the necessary steps to fix the problem, and move on. Don’t use words like “failure.” Ultimately, the art of analysis is combining creativity with decision-making in collaboration with those who will be at the heart of your success.
Related: The State of Employment report for April shows employers are scaling back hiring rates and worker wage growth is slowing
To grow, hire free thinkers
I have seen the difference between scaling companies that overcome the challenges of growth and those that miss the opportunity because they are willing to truly listen to their employees and embrace change. Leaders must accept that teams are part of their growth. Steve Jobs had the idea for the iPhone, but he was only as great as the people behind him.
Perhaps now more than ever, more and more employees are looking for an environment in which they truly feel a sense of personal appreciation. Don’t be afraid of the unknown; Stay open to the craziest ideas. This mindset shift is critical to fostering innovation, driving growth and staying ahead of the competition. With this in mind, hiring the right people will keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive throughout the growing company.