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    How do I make sure my team and processes are ready for growth?

    You’ve uncovered an opportunity that will grow your business, and you’re ready to get started. But your team doesn't seem so enthusiastic and you have concerns that current processes may not scale as efficiently as you’d like. Before getting started in your new direction, it’s crucial to check that your business is ready for the demand that growth or simply doing something different will bring.

    Ways to help you deal with it:

    Action plan

    Filling the skill gaps in your business

    Effort : Medium
    Impact : Medium

    Factors outside of your control, such as changing consumer habits, development of new technologies or particular regulations, mean it's important to stay abreast of the skills your business has and doesn't have as it looks towards the future. While working this out might sound intimidating, it will allow you to focus on the skills that have the greatest potential to help your business in the short term.

    ACTION PLANS are a structured list of steps designed to help you approach tackling a particular business challenge.

    • We explain why each step is important
    • Customise by setting your own completion dates and assign tasks
    • Helpful tools are provided for certain steps
    • A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available

    Action plan

    Developing a recruitment process for scale

    Effort : Medium
    Impact : Medium
    Improving your recruitment process increases the quality of your hires. It’s a crucial part of scaling. Here’s how to get started.

    Action plan

    Creating effective targets for your employees

    Effort : Medium
    Impact : High
    Goals provide clarity and help to galvanise your team around the company’s objectives. Our five-point plan explains how to set effective targets.

    Action plan

    Planning cash flow during a period of growth

    Effort : Medium
    Impact : Medium
    Financial planning is crucial during periods of growth. Our five-step plan will help you manage finances and take advantage of the opportunity.

    Action plan

    Building a network from scratch

    Effort : High
    Impact : High
    Building a network is about making valuable contacts who can provide guidance during critical moments. Our action plan will show you where to start.

    Action plan

    Developing a new product or service

    Effort : High
    Impact : High
    Creating a new product or service for your business and not sure where to start? Follow our five-step action plan.

    Guide

    An introduction to making sure your team and processes are ready for growth

    Your team and processes need to adapt as your business grows. Taking proactive steps to get ready for growth can help you avoid common growing pains.

    GUIDES break a challenge down, providing important context and real-world experiences.

    • Based on SME experiences, not corporate jargon
    • Filled with real-world stories
    • Achievable steps every business can take

    Other support that's available

    Preparing your team for growth

    Preparing your team for growth

    Growth is an exciting phase for your business. However, as Entrepreneur explains, it’s vital to communicate with your team at each and every stage.

    Keeping employees engaged

    Keeping employees engaged

    During periods of change, it’s essential to keep communicating with your staff so that they remain engaged, enthusiastic and productive. ATD has some useful top tips.

    How other businesses have tackled something similar

    Neil Basil, Patient Choice

    Real business story

    Identify the right people to manage your growing business by hiring for culture, not skills

    Identifying people to manage a growing business is a make-or-break moment. Get it right and, like Patient Choice has found, the positive impact will be exponential..
    Nikolay Piriankov, Taylor and Hart

    Real business story

    Sales targets motivate staff and help businesses reach full potential

    Sales targets are helping London-based jewellery business Taylor & Hart motivate staff and succeed in a highly competitive market..
    Steven Hawke, Norway Inn

    Real business story

    Build a business network for mutually beneficial relationships and fresh perspectives

    Building a business network in the hospitality industry has been essential in turning around the fortunes of Cornwall pub and hotel, The Norway Inn..

    The questions lots of businesses are trying to answer

    What issue is keeping you awake at night? A bit of targeted support is often all you need to overcome those challenges.

    Select a topic

    Digital

    How can I improve the digital presence my business has? How should I go about collecting data to improve my business? How should I use the data I have to improve decision making? How can I streamline and automate some of our business processes? How do I work out the best digital sales channels to use? How do I assess and choose the right technology to improve business operations? How do I effectively seek external digital support? How can I understand what digital tools or support my business needs? How do I know if my technology is robust enough for growth? How should I best budget and plan for new technology investments?

    Leadership & Strategy

    How do I learn to become a better leader? How do I improve the communication in my business? How do I get staff interested in our vision and values? How can I reflect on my own strengths and weaknesses as a leader? How do I give my team autonomy and get better at delegating? As a leader, how do I learn to trust others within my organisation? How do I apply learnings from other businesses to my own company? How should my role as a business leader evolve with the company’s growth? How can I balance short-term needs with long-term targets? How do I get better at noticing and reacting to warning signs?

    People & Team

    How can I improve my hiring and onboarding practices? How can I develop the skillsets of my workforce? How can I develop career paths for my staff? How can I run a better appraisals process? How should I performance manage my staff? How do I deal with a challenging member of staff? How can I increase staff engagement and motivation? How can I keep my best members of staff? How do I manage an effective remote workforce? How can I reduce employee turnover?

    Planning

    How do I better inform my business plans? How do I know when to scale up my business? How can I define and communicate my vision for success? How do I ensure my business can navigate a dip in trading? How do I know when to invest in my business? How can I get better at looking internally at my business? How can I get staff interested in the financial situation? How can I make my business more resilient to change? How can I balance ambition with setting realistic goals? How can I work out what required skillsets are missing in the business?

    Sales & Growth

    How can we develop new products and services? How do I develop a clear unique selling point? How can we better serve our most loyal customers? How do I financially plan for new opportunities? How do I build a network to support my business? How can I get a better return on investment from my marketing? How can I identify new customers to target? How do I create targets and KPIs for my staff? How do I make sure my team and processes are ready for growth? How do I benchmark my business against competitors?
    All