What Roles Do You Need At Any Given Moment When Creating A Scale-Up?

For a startup, evolving into a scale-up business is an exciting and challenging venture.

As a company grows, the roles and duties required to sustain that growth also face the need to evolve and change to adapt and manage the upcoming circumstances. Thus, a CEO and his team must understand what roles are needed at different stages of a scale-up to build a strong foundation for success; whether it’s adding new team members, expanding into new markets, or developing new products, having the right people in the right roles can make all the difference.

HIRE THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR YOUR SCALE-UP

The first thing you should do before hiring is to plan the needed workforce, which means knowing what kind of talent is needed and what skills are required. Later, the following questions should be addressed: 

• What are the short and long-term objectives?
• How should the company be in 6 months?
• How fast do they need to grow?
• Is the planning realistic?
• Do they have the right technology and tools to hire?
• Do they have the capacity to avoid miss-hires?
• Do you require hiring managers?
• What are the planning risks?

Remember that hiring can be expensive and resource-intensive, so the company should take the time to make a good hiring plan with a clear roadmap that tells you how to achieve your goals and what you want to accomplish. 

COMMON MISTAKES

Hiring for a scale-up can be challenging because in addition to the lack of planning for a hiring process, common mistakes take place during the hiring process that hinders their growth:

1. Hiring for immediate needs instead of considering long-term goals. It’s understandable to be in a rush to fill open positions, but hiring someone who is a good fit for a specific role right now may not be the best decision, especially if that person isn’t capable of growing with the company.
2. Not being clear about the company’s culture and values. As a scale-up grows, it’s essential to have a cohesive team aligned with the company’s mission and values.
3. Relying too heavily on technical skills and neglecting soft skills. Technical skills are important, but they aren’t everything. A team with strong soft skills can be more effective at problem-solving, adaptation, and collaboration.
4. Not considering diversity and inclusion in the hiring process. A diverse workforce brings a range of perspectives and experiences, which can lead to more innovation and better decision-making.

DEVELOPING A RECRUITING STRATEGY

When it comes to scaling up a business, one of the most critical factors for success is hiring the right talent. Building a team that can navigate growth challenges and sustains momentum requires a strategic approach to talent acquisition, so how can you achieve it?

• Define your company’s culture and values.
• Create a place where people want to work.
• Develop a clear job description.
• Determine where to find candidates.
• Screen candidates.
• Conduct in-person interviews.
• Evaluate candidates’ potential for growth.
• Make a competitive offer.
• Monitor and adjust your recruiting strategy.
• Don’t forget about soft skills.

HIRE FOR CULTURE FIT

Your company may not be for everyone, and that’s okay, so invest in building and promoting a good company culture as you grow while creating a good work environment where the whole team feels comfortable. Also, it’s important to hire resilient employees who do not give up at the slightest difficulty, like to work as a team, and are eager to grow. 

CEO, CFO, AND CTO

Hiring good executive-level positions such as CEO, CFO, and CTO is fundamental for a scale-up. These leaders will set the tone for the company’s growth trajectory and drive innovation, so you need to find candidates with the right skills, experience, and cultural fit. What qualities should these executives have?:

• Experience
• Vision
• Cultural fit. 
• Analytical skills.
• Strategic mindset.
• Technical expertise.
• Product vision.

Marketing Director and Sales Director

These leaders will be responsible for driving revenue growth and increasing brand awareness. They are in charge of the selling team, developing positioning strategies and are in direct contact with the most important stakeholder for the company’s growth: the customer. The Marketing Director and Sales Director generally work hand in hand, so what characteristics do you look for in them?: experience, strategic mindset, creativity, analytics, leadership skills, and of course, customer focus. 

HR MANAGER

The crucial moment when HR can make a big difference in whether a company goes big or goes home is when a startup begins to transition into a scale-up. If your company happens to be small or still a startup, you may be able to survive for a short time – emphasis on short – without investing in a good HR department. However, when you decide to take the plunge, a lack of structure and good HR processes can cause your dream to falter and enter the percentages of startups that disappear. 

So, as we have already pointed out: hiring talent for strategic roles is crucial in a scale-up since it will enable your company to grow and achieve all business goals. There are some areas to which you should pay attention as the scaling-up phase begins:

• Recruiting.
• Retention & Engagement strategies.
• Raining & Onboarding.
• Talent Management.

PRODUCT MANAGER

In a fast-growing company, a Product Manager (PM) plays a critical role in driving business success. A PM is responsible for overseeing the development, launch, and profit of the company’s products. They ensure that the product meets the needs of the target audience, solves their problems, and aligns with the company’s overall business objectives.

For a scale-up, a Product Manager is especially essential because they help manage the complexity that comes with fast growth. As a company expands, the number of products, features, and stakeholders involved in the development process increases. Without a PM to manage these moving parts, it can be easy for the company to become disorganized, inefficient, and lose focus.

Is your startup ready to become a scale-up? The first and most significant step is to take your time and analyze it well with your team, so remember: hiring is the most important and the most time and resource-consuming process, but if done right, it is worth it. Thus, if you are ready, go ahead, it is time to scale! 

If you’re seeking to work with flexible talents contact us, and we can find the best talent for your company!