Image taken from “Entrepreneurship Skills for Growth-Orientated Businesses” by Thomas M. Cooney
The global market is expanding, thanks to new technologies that allow businesses to operate and communicate with teams in different locations. If your business isn’t expanding with your market, you are losing potential customers. However, in order to expand successfully, companies must ensure their employees are equipped with the right set of skills.
Essential Skills for Company Growth
Skill: Communication
How it relates to company growth: In order for any company to grow, its employees need to have a cohesive and efficient communication system. Each employee should understand how to discuss ideas, problems and other work-related topics with their peers and supervisors.
Skill: Teamwork
How it relates to company growth: Growing companies takes a lot of teamwork skills because your team must tackle problems together, maintain cohesive marketing and communication strategies, and work as a team towards where you envision your company going. Your team should all agree on the mission and vision of the business and where the growth will take you.
Skill: Initiative
How it relates to company growth: Employees who take initiative help a business grow because they find ways to create growth. If an employee is presented with an opportunity for the company, they should have the initiative and drive to pursue it even if it’s outside of their job scope. This skill also entails knowing when not to act.
Skill: Time Management
How it relates to company growth: Growing companies are bustling places of work and employees have plenty to do. Time management skills are crucial for employees to be able to handle of all their responsibilities while still having enough time for themselves.
Skill: Flexibility
How it relates to company growth: Many employees hold more than one position, especially in startups. For example, a marketing employee may also have shop hours, or the accountant may also take care of hiring. Having enough flexibility to take on multiple roles in an organization (at least for a little while) will help ease the growing pains, as businesses usually find themselves short of staff when expanding.
Skill: Intelligence / Education
How it relates to company growth: This necessary skill is obvious, but important enough to merit mentioning nonetheless. Employees need to have the right education and technical skills to grow a company and grow alongside it. Since growing companies often have unique skill deficiencies they need to address (one company may need to improve their teamwork skills and another may need leadership), consider having a specialized in-house training session or series.
Skill: Independence
How it relates to company growth: In a rapidly moving company, employees don’t get much supervision since everyone is busy with the expansion. Employees must be able to work efficiently and effectively on their own when in a growing company, or they may create even more work for their peers.
Is your company growing? Let us help you find the right people to make your expansion a success with our personalized employee assessments that can help you find your best employees, quickly and efficiently.
About the Author: Jocelyn Pick
