How to grow your impact by growing your team
If you’re the sole founder or co-founder of a good business that you’re wanting to grow beyond just you, you’ve probably got a lot of questions about how to grow a team. You may potentially also have some concerns after hearing horror stories from other business owners.
We asked founders of Just Helpers and Diversity & Ability to share lessons they have learned, sometimes the hard way, to help you grow your impact.
When it could cost a business £7000 to hire and fire an employee that didn’t work out, growing the team is understandably an anxiety inducing commitment for any business owner.
So here are some insights and lessons from other business owners who’ve been through it time and time again, so you can feel more confident in your approach.
Antoinette Daniel
“The more we can connect as human beings, the richer our working environment becomes.”
Just Helpers
Antoinette Daniel is Founder of Just Helpers, the ethical cleaning agency.
When did you know it was the right time to start hiring?
“I got to the point where I was finding it hard to devote any brain space or time to growing my business, because I was all consumed with fighting fires in my business. I was the go-to problem solver for all of the cleaning team which meant I was creating a bottle neck for suppliers, other business opportunities and any networking leads that I was trying to develop. I did a time audit and was shocked to see that over 95% of my time was spent on the phone or in person with colleagues. I realised then that I needed help.”
Who should be the first hire?
“For us, it was an Operations Assistant, someone to run take on the burden of the day to day rotas, calls and emails was crucial. This allowed me as the business owner to distance myself from the constant stream of questions. It meant that if I was otherwise engaged, business continued as usual. At the time, I was still heavily involved in sales, especially as this was an area of the business that I loved and was good at. I would say work to your strengths. But in the early days, keeping sales and operations flourishing to guarantee a steady cash flow are critical.”
How do you know you are hiring the right person for your business?
“The more we have recruited, the more we lean in to searching for someone that fit our values. It goes back to Jim Collins’ idea in ‘Good to Great’ of getting the right people on the bus, then worrying down the line about getting them on the right seat. When you are in start-up mode, you need people that believe in your vision, who you get on with, give you energy and can be a little flexible in terms of turning their hand to a couple of things in your business. However, beware the principle of ‘What got you here, won’t get you there’ by Marshall Goldsmith. This will need to be revised as you grow with a more specialised approach to also recruiting for skill and experience.”
What’s the recruitment or interviewing process you put applicants through?
“We’ve used a blended approach for all of our hires from field operatives to office staff. Our commonalities are a slow and steady process. We believe if people are willing to jump through a couple of hoops, then they care enough about our company to want to be a part of it.
We ask people to leave a telephone message answering a couple of questions including telling us about something that isn’t on their CV, a face to face chat, a skills based test and basic DiSC profiling. We pursue references quite early on, as again we’ve found this can help us save time invested in the process.
One of the more subjective questions we always ask our recruiters to comment (but not score on) is what is their gut feeling. We’ve discovered some real diamonds in the rough by giving them a wild card into the next round of interviewing with this approach. One of the great resources that I still read each time I recruit is “Who, The A Method For Hiring” by Geoff Smart and Randy Street.”
Anything else you’ve learned that you think others would value knowing?
“We’ve found it fruitful to invest time in listening to and understanding people’s stories at every stage of the process and allowing our potential colleagues space to be vulnerable. After all, the more we can connect as human beings, the richer our working environment becomes.”
Atif Choudhury
“Recognise the strength in difference. You don’t want people who are like you…”
Diversity & Ability
Atif Choudhury is the CEO of Diversity & Ability, championing neurodiversity and disability inclusion through technology, training and talent.
When did you know it was the right time to start hiring?
When I realised we risked diluting our values by trying to do too much. Recognising the value in playing to strengths, and the resources we needed to maintain that, was crucial to our maturity journey.
Who should be the first hire?
Recognise the strength in difference. You don’t want people who are like you; you want people who challenge your thinking while also helping you sustain your values. Social-value-driven businesses are often led by the heart, not the head. So, find a head to your heart, and realise that the two shouldn’t be opposing forces, but allies.
How do you know you are hiring the right person for your business?
In truth, you can’t know; real belonging takes time. But a person will never be ‘right’ unless your values speak to theirs, so focus on that from the start.
What’s the recruitment or interviewing process you put applicants through?
It’s all about an anticipatory welcome. Everyone needs something different, and it’s our job to create an environment that enables them to bring their best selves. We make it clear that we celebrate diversity and offer flexible choices for applicants. Excitingly, we now also offer support to other organisations to make their recruitment inclusive!
Anything else you’ve learned that you think others would value knowing?
Diversity is about counting people. Inclusion is about insisting people count. The linchpin for meaningful change is to welcome lived marginalised experience and recognise the richness it brings.
Networking, Good Business Club-style
Join the Good Business Club on 27 January in London for networking with a difference.