When you’re running a business, it’s vital to get help. As a founder, your expertise is in the product or service that is your company’s USP. In the early days you can keep all the plates spinning, especially when you’re working with a small team who are wholly invested in the flexible start-up culture that allows you to burn the midnight oil to get your product to market.
As your business grows so too do your responsibilities. As you take on more staff, it becomes harder and harder to administrate to their HR needs: ensuring pay deadlines are met is vital, recording holiday and sickness is important to make sure your team aren’t burning out, and conducting regularly reviews with target setting is something to aim for to make sure your new employees are developing. This doesn’t just mean they contribute more to your business, it also helps you retain them in the long term.
That’s a lot of work, and it’s only one of the areas of responsibility you have to keep oversight on. Once your start-up takes off you need to start getting some extra support, or you’ll being to fall prey to some of the problems that afflict overstretched founders and sink start-ups before they have the chance to succeed.
Recruiters
As you grow, it’s worth looking for some Executive Search firms in the UK. When you’re trying to make high level appointments, a good relationship with a high level recruiter is key: they have the network to get you the candidates you really need to make the best choice, and the more you work with them the deeper their understanding of your business will get and the better they can anticipate your needs.
Lawyers
Lawyers aren’t just an option to call on when things go badly. If you treat them like that, you will find them a costly resource. If you use lawyers are a preventative measure, rather than a cure you’ll find them better priced, and the money you save in trouble avoided will more than pay for the service!
Lawyers can help when you’re drawing up contracts, to make sure you’re really getting what you need and not exposing yourself to any more risk than is necessary, and making sure that you’re compliant with the law at all times.
Interim Talent
Interim Managers are not just a resource to be used in times of disaster! They can be useful to many companies who simply need an injection of the insight and experience they’ve not had time to cultivate for themselves. If you need someone experienced to set up your HR systems, for example, an Interim HR Expert can help you hit the ground running!