One of the things we have learnt over the past 10 years of providing outsourced HR support to SME’s is that one of the biggest challenges is building the right team. When you get it right, it can transform your business; when you get it wrong, it can leave you wondering if a regular job might be easier.
Growing a small business is tough – cashflow is usually tight, knowing the right time to recruit without growing too quickly and stretching your resources too thin is a delicate decision-making process.
There's no doubt that if you plan to scale your business, step away from daily responsibilities, or prepare to sell it in the future, the quality of your team will play a major role. Success isn't just about having employees to fill roles; it's about developing a highly skilled, cohesive team, even if it’s a small one. The true value of your business lies in the calibre of the people behind it, and their ability to drive your vision forward, whether you're leading or not.
Reality Check
Running a small business comes with its own set of challenges, and team building is no exception. Business owners often struggle with this and may end up hiring friends or family without checking whether these individuals have the skills needed to help the business grow.
The cold, hard truth is that you can’t afford to settle for mediocrity. Every member of your team must contribute real value. If someone isn’t pulling their weight, it can drag down the entire team. In a small team, you need to be ruthless about maintaining quality. This means regularly assessing performance and making tough decisions to ensure every team member is a strong fit.
Skills Balance Dilemma
Building a team isn’t having someone who mirrors your own skills and traits. It’s about bringing together people with diverse, complementary abilities. The complementary skills dilemma can be tricky, but it’s essential to balance your team’s strengths and weaknesses.
For example, pairing a detail-oriented planner with a big-picture thinker can create a dynamic and effective team. If you’re a brilliant marketer with big ideas, you should also have a project manager who can handle the logistics and ensure those ideas are brought to life.
By combining different skills, you create a team that covers all the bases and works together seamlessly.
The Risk of Familiar Faces
The tendency of hiring people you already know often comes from wanting to create a friendly team and avoid disagreements and conflict, or from thinking that shared values and similar personalities will make working together easier. It’s easy to fall into this trap, but this can be dangerous.
While a positive workplace culture is important, remember that likeability doesn’t always translate to capability.
When recruiting, play devil’s advocate to avoid the danger of hiring based solely on personal rapport. Playing devil’s advocate, by initially questioning your initial impressions and assumptions, helps you carefully check each candidate’s skills and qualifications, not just how well they match your personal style or preferences.
Build a Team with an Exit Strategy in Mind
Whether you’re planning to grow your business long-term, eventually sell it or simply want to step back and spend more time working “on” your business not “in” it, you need to focus your efforts on building a team with an exit strategy in mind. This means, hiring people who help your business succeed now and can keep it thriving even if you are not around. A strong, self-sufficient team boosts your business’ value, gives you as the business owner more time to do the things you enjoy and ultimately making it more attractive to potential buyers or partners.
How to Create Your Own Super Team
Building your dream team requires more than just good intentions; it requires well-thought-out strategies.
- Clearly Define Your Needs. Start by clearly defining your needs and setting measurable goals for each role. Before you start the hiring process, take the time to clearly define what your business needs. What specific skills, experience, and attributes are essential for your team? Consider not just the immediate needs but also how this person can grow with your business. A well-defined job description will attract the right candidates and make your recruiting process less complicated.
- Identify the Skills that fill the gaps. Look at the skills your team already have and figure out what’s missing. Find new team members who have the skills you need to complete your team.
- Look Beyond Skills—Focus on Cultural Fit. Skills can be taught, but a cultural fit is much harder to change. When interviewing, check if they match your company’s values, work style, and goals. If they fit well with your culture, they’ll likely be happier, work better with the team, and stay longer.
- Invest in employee growth. Invest in your employees’ growth. Those who are hungry for new challenges are often the most driven and successful. By helping them learn and advance, you keep them engaged and motivated.
- Create a positive work environment. There’s no use in having the best team if you can’t keep them. As much as possible, create and maintain a supportive and uplifting workplace where everyone can excel and feel valued. Remember to spend time celebrating successes as a team.
- Be transparent with your team about your expectations. Being upfront builds trust, cuts down on confusion, and keeps everyone focused on the same goals.
- "Hire slow, fire fast" means taking your time to find the right person for the job and letting someone go quickly if they aren’t working out. Carefully review candidates before recruiting and use the probation period to see if they fit well. If it’s clear they’re not a good fit, act fast to replace them. This way, you build a strong team and avoid the problems of keeping the wrong person.
Keep the Bar High
Maintain high standards without compromise especially in a small team is critical. If you let standards slip, it quickly becomes visible impacting all your team members. Here’s how to keep those standards high:
- Be patient with hiring: Don’t rush to fill vacancies just because you’re overwhelmed. Bringing on the wrong person can cause more issues than it solves. Consider all aspects of a candidate thoroughly, even if it means taking a bit more time.
- Play Devil’s Advocate: ask yourself if the candidate genuinely meets the role’s requirements or if personal preferences are influencing your decision.
- Establish a thorough onboarding process: Set clear expectations from the beginning so new employees understand their roles and responsibilities right from the start. This helps them settle in and work well with the team.
- Provide ongoing feedback: Talk to team members often about their performance, both the good and bad aspects. This helps fix issues quickly and keeps everyone focused on the team’s goals.
- Cut out the bad apple: If a team member isn’t performing well, act quickly to resolve the situation. Delaying this can negatively impact the team’s overall effectiveness. Evaluate whether keeping the underperforming employee is truly helpful for the team and be prepared to make changes if needed. Avoiding the difficult conversations only creates more problems for the team in the long run.
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” – Henry Ford
Remember, planning an exit isn’tj ust about preparing to sell; it’s about ensuring you’re not bogged down in daily operations. Without a plan to either sell the business or build a team that can take over, you’ll find yourself constantly working..
If you need help in working out when and how to build your super team, give us a call today.