High-growth firms experience unique challenges, especially when it comes to scaling a people strategy that engages and retains employees.
This is evident in our research on the middle market, America’s fastest growing sector, which found employee engagement down 11.5 percent.
While our experts debated in the piece whether or not high-growth companies would always struggle with engagement, they could all agree that these firms could better prepare for high-growth by focusing on five areas the middle market significantly fell behind.
Here’s a quick look at the five ways you can prepare your people strategy for high growth, according to the research:
High-growth firms move fast, and employees’ contributions can be lost in the shuffle. A strong people strategy will consider what employee recognition looks like in an organization increasing in size.
Our research shows that feeling valued by senior leaders is a critical driver to employee engagement. As organizations increase in size, people are more likely to feel disconnected from senior leaders. And you can’t feel valued by what you can’t see.
In high-growth firms, the pace of change is fast, and it can be hard to slow down enough to be intentional about how change happens and how it’s communicated. But this is essential for your people strategy. Employees need to feel connected and need a sense of stability and security.
The more people in your organization, the more compensation conversations you have to manage and the more important it is to have a consistent framework and official pay strategy. In addition, in order to push through your next high-growth phase, you might be looking for more highly-sought talent, which means getting more competitive with pay.
Similar to the above, the more people in your organization, the more careers you have to manage. Our research shows that providing employees opportunities for growth and development is an important driver of engagement and retention.
Growing fast comes with great rewards, but employee engagement, retention, and culture can suffer at the hands of that success. Don’t overlook safeguarding your people strategy!
Download our full report below for more of our research on the downside of growth, including more executive strategies, insights, and real-life stories.
Published November 15, 2017 | Written By Hilary Wright