Does Your Talent Grow Your Business?

Catherine Miklaus

According to American Express Open Research, 72% of business owners are focused on growth this year.  It’s been a difficult recession.  But the good news is the economy is turning around.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated they added another 2.7 million jobs to the American job market in July alone.  It seems employers are feeling rather comfortable again.  It’s this feeling that has sparked much discussion in the world of business. Entrepreneurs are ready to get back on track to business growth.  One of the largest challenges facing entrepreneurs is how to achieve growth. Whether trying to grow a fledgling business or trying to take a successful existing business to the next level, talent is the name of the game.  No entrepreneur is an island; your talent is going to be the path towards being able to successfully grow your business.

How Do You Grow Your Business with Talent?

Entrepreneurs often have to wear many hats in the early days.  As their businesses grow, it can become difficult to let go of some of these hats.  But let go they must.  No business owner can do every job.  Well, they can try, but they’ll soon grow too weary to do any of the jobs! As businesses grow from small operations to large, there is a continual process of hiring talented individuals to help execute a goal of business success.  As a team, the business will grow.  This process never stops because there will always be more to do than one person, one team, or one department can do alone.  So how do you grow your business using talent?

• Hire for skills your business doesn’t currently possess.  Many businesses tend to outsource for skills they don’t currently possess.  This can be the IT function, marketing, or even sales. After a while, it becomes clear these are essential functions that your business should possess.  When businesses are on a growth track, they want to own their own data, be able to fix their own machines, and market their business.  One way to grow your business is to hire talent with these skills.  These functions really require people who possess specialized knowledge to hit a home run for the business.  Bring these functions in house and see how much your team can succeed.  Business growth takes time; it’s not a one month process.  But if you’ve hired talented individuals, they will produce results over time that translate into business growth.  Together your team will rise, but apart, it can fall dramatically.
  
• Enhance the customer experience.  Whether your business is focused on business to consumer or business to business, customer service is a key component to business growth. Your business’ talent is the front line of the customer experience.  If your business doesn’t have enough people on staff, the customer experience can suffer.  By hiring individuals who enhance that customer experience, your business gains the ability to do what makes your business great.  Happy customers stay with their vendors, partners, and favorite places longer than those that fail to offer a satisfactory customer experience.  Just look at the popularity of online reviews- many businesses with 5 stars continue to attract new loyal customers.  Businesses who ignore their gaps in customer service soon find they’re running out of new and existing business.
  
• Train your employees to pursue growth strategies.  A great way to grow your business is to train employees to pursue it.  Are you selling to the same old customer base? Start pursuing outbound sales strategies.  Does your company offer a training solution to grow your team’s skill sets?  Training your employees can help you to grow your business as a team.  It can also replace knowledge that may be lost as aging workers retire.  Training should be an essential component of any business growth strategy.
  
• Your talent is a part of a network.  Consider every individual you hire and work with is a part of a vast network.  Remember the popularity of “7 Degrees of Kevin Bacon”?  At its core it was an investigation into how we’re all connected.  You and  your employees are connected.  These people have access to potential new customers, partners, and vendors that can help your business to grow.  Talented individuals also attract the business and support of others who admire what they do and how they do it.

This year, more businesses will be seeking to grow their business than in the past few years.  As you consider how to grow your business, consider that talent acquisition can be a growth leader.

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