Build a start up thats ready to grow - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

Build a start up that’s ready to grow - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Start-ups often rely on an informal culture to attract the best talent. Yet, as they expand, it is necessary to introduce a more procedural approach. How can start-ups be built to grow? Find people who want to grow “We look for a desire to grow and develop with the business, and people who just have the right personal attitudes to work in teams,” says Matthew Cox, Sales Director at automation and control business Lambert. The organisation has been particularly successful in holding on to people from the early days, and they are now helping to instil the company values in the next generation. “It’s really about the directors of the business, who used to be the managers, making sure the new people they bring in are engrained with the same ideals, vision and culture that they have, so it gets passed on,” he says. Define your culture clearly Anette Ceraficki, Director of Talent and People Development, Benevity, says hiring staff that fit in with the company’s ambitions and culture have allowed them to prepare for growth. “There are ten key attributes which are critical to Benevity’s success as an organisation,” she says. “They are things like innovation, flexibility, a real comfort with ambiguity, lots of initiative and a passion for the business.” All new hires attend a week-long induction process at its headquarters in Calgary, she adds. There they are immersed in the company culture, exposed to different parts of the business, and undergo specific training programmes. But such attention to personality and character is rare, according to research by Hays Canada. “We found that personality or cultural fit is essential, but companies don’t hire with personality or cultural fit at the forefront of their mind,” says Rowan O’Grady, President of Hays Canada. “They’re focused on technical skills, experience, qualifications or salary requirements. But when you ask people what the biggest contributors were in cases where it didn’t work out, the number-one thing is that it just wasn’t a good fit. That means personality; the individual did not get on well with the people they were working with.” Offer flexibility Start-ups are often unable to compete with larger companies on salary. Offering other perks, such as flexibility on hours, can help you attract people with the attributes you need to succeed. “We created a culture which supported innovation, where there’s a lot of flexibility and people aren’t monitored as to where and when they’re doing their work,” says Ceraficki. “The key with all of it is that people get their work done; it’s like Netflix’s mandate about only hiring fully formed adults.” It’s a similar situation with UK-based point-of-payment ratings company truRating, which has grown rapidly to employ 50 people in the UK, Australia, Canada and the US. “I’ve made sure that there’s a culture whereby people are trusted to do their work in the hours that work for them, and there are no written policies,” says founder Georgina Nelson. “We have people who leave the house at 5am and are back at the end of the school day, and others who fit marathon training into their week without guilt.” Such flexibility has also helped staff cope with time differences around the world, she adds. If you enjoyed the above blog  then you might also appreciate these other articles, which also  originally appeared in  previous issues of the  Hays Journal: Rio 2016: A marathon not a sprint Making a breakthrough A complex relationship The fruits of knowledge Training at the top Why talented Chinese graduates are aiming high in Dubai Establishing an effective middle management tier Managing external resources Four pillars of people View the Hays Journal online or request a printed copy from haysjournal@hays.com