Sabby Gill, Executive Vice President, Epicor, analyses the importance of retaining employee loyalty and interest during booming periods.
When a business experiences sudden growth, it creates a range of emotions, from joy and excitement to dread and fear. The progressive mindset that stimulates growth can inadvertently cause us to be less sensitive to the negative emotions that might emerge as a result.
The reality is that progress is part of doing business, and with some careful planning and forward-thinking, the growth period does not have to be ridden with pain. The right IT infrastructure can help to facilitate some of these big changes and make the process a lot smoother.
Recent research conducted by Epicor has explored the different approaches organisations take in dealing with growth. It’s been found that the three priorities tend to be in turnover and sales, profits, and expansion into new industries and product areas.
But what happens if the growth is unforeseen, or experienced as a surge? Leaders can find themselves on the back foot if they have not developed the appropriate skillset to handle the new changes.
Rob Morris, Head of Innovation and Thought Leadership at YSC, believes that hiring for and developing the right skillset for growth goes a long way in dealing with the excessive demands placed on the workplace.
“Although we plan for growth in linear and rational ways, it often looks more like chaos in practice,” he says. “When growth happens at such an unpredictable pace and scale, you don’t usually hire for that growth. As a result, you will not have the people to deliver on the new scale that you have created for yourself. The downside is people end up doing more than they expected, and often outside of the roles they were hired or trained for.”
A risk associated with business progress is employees becoming increasingly disengaged in the workplace due to heavier workloads, pressures, and deadlines. According to the Epicor research, 43 percent of leaders are concerned that as their business grows, workloads may increase to a level that places too much pressure on staff, prompting key personnel to leave the organisation.
Morris believes that a key predictor of job satisfaction is whether employees find ‘meaning’ in their work and warns that an employee’s personal values and missions can become misaligned with the company’s goals once the company starts growing.
“If I am asked to do things outside of the boundaries with which I joined the company, suddenly I may be less committed to them,” he says. “If employees have less of a connection with the tasks involved or when they take on too many new tasks, too fast then it creates job dissatisfaction.”
The Epicor survey findings revealed that the top two stimulants for growth are ‘technology leadership’ (40 percent) and ‘skilled workforce’ (39 percent). This can be a two-edged sword. Organisations that are stuck with legacy systems might find themselves falling behind, unable to adapt to new business processes, or meet the demands of employees who expect modern technology in order to do their jobs. On the other hand, the organisations that leap onto new technology, will find themselves ahead of their competitors, ready to embrace new challenges.
According to Morris, employees need “emotional support to withstand the pressures of growing.” He also rec-ommends “fostering a robust culture so people can be resilient throughout the growth surge.” It’s clear that this culture can be more robust if people are supported by the technology they need to do their jobs. Although it seems counter-intuitive, e.g., deploying technology in support of an emotional challenge, investment in the right IT infrastructure is therefore essential, and will help maintain the emotional well-being of employees throughout this transitionary period.
