Recruiting in periods of high growth Managing change isn’t an easy process for an SME, even if is created by a positive stimulus, like growth. Recruiting during this time is both necessary and tricky. Do you promote existing staff and hire younger people to replace them, or look for senior new recruits for manager positions?
By Charlotte Walker, branch manager of Staffordshire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester recruitment specialist, Brampton Recruitment.
Perhaps current employees aren’t ready to make the step up or just don’t feel like they are. Promotion could bring with it overwhelming feelings of doubt and push employees to leave a company where they were originally happy. Change inspires different feelings in different people.
This idea is illustrated by the Kübler-Ross Change Curve. The model portrays the different emotions people tend to go through when dealing with change and the effect it has on their morale. Individuals regress after the initial shock of change, but soon learn to incorporate it into their normal routine and eventually reach higher levels of competence than before the process.
The best way to manage this journey is to be supportive of staff and encourage honesty. However, there is no harm keeping a list of promising candidates even if positions aren’t available at the time.
By maintaining a good relationship with a specialist recruitment agency that understands the needs and ideal skill-sets of the business, you can cultivate a talent pool to dip into during times of rapid growth.
It’s never nice when an employee decides to leave a company, especially if it’s because of change. However, by having this recruitment strategy in place, SMEs can reduce the stress of losing a valued member of the team at a busy time.
