EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

There is always a trade-off between growth and hygiene factors in business . Growing faster will mean you need more capital which may have implications for sustainability or maintaining control of the business . It may mean that you have to hire people just because you need people , and that can have implications for culture and fit .

Hiring at scale involves not only hiring enough people , but the right people . At the same time as getting people in to do your work and hit your objectives , you need to ensure that you are set up to offer them a fulfilling career , good benefits and rewards and a working life that is balanced .

Too often businesses try to grow without having a plan in place , so employees end up with bigger workloads and working longer hours , which can lead to burnout , presenteeism and absence – which is no good for anyone .

GROWING FASTER WILL MEAN YOU NEED MORE CAPITAL WHICH MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY OR MAINTAINING CONTROL OF THE BUSINESS .

Hiring to scale your company can be resource heavy . Using effective technology to streamline and be more efficient through automations can help manage some of that workload , so your talent acquisition and human resources teams can focus more on the strategic side of growing teams .

Hiring employees comes with significant costs , including salaries , benefits , recruitment costs and more . If a company scales too quickly , these costs can become overwhelming and lead to financial strain . If the business doesn ' t have the revenue to support the rapid increase in headcount , it could lead to financial instability .

Rapid scaling can also strain resources dedicated to training and onboarding new employees . If a large number of new hires come on board in a short period , it can be difficult to provide them with the attention and resources they need to become fully productive members of the team . We need to ensure that as well as training for knowledge and skill , we think about job satisfaction .

Businesses need to ask themselves why they want to scale . Have they noticed a particular societal need they want to address ? Is there a gap in the market ? Or is it to make more money ? No one driver is necessarily wrong or right , but an awareness of this will enable you to implement the tools and strategies needed to achieve that growth .

Of course , scaling isn ’ t linear . You may be growing quickly and the economic cycle changes and now you ' re in a position where you need to lay people off quickly too . What are the implications for those people ? They still have bills to pay and may be unable to find alternative employment quick enough .

I think companies have a moral obligation to ensure that they can grow at a fast enough pace , while maintaining the sustainability of the business for all concerned , not just the founders or shareholders who want a maximum return on their investment .

22 www . intelligentcxo . com