How to Grow Your Workforce Whilst Maintaining Quality It is an exciting to know you are ready to expand and have the means to do so, but it is equally important to take your time with expansion plans.
By Ebraheem Al Samadi •
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It is the dream for nearly all entrepreneurs when they start out to eventually expand their startup into something far bigger. Although it can be exciting to grow as a business, it is important to keep that initial "je ne sais quois" that had customers coming back for more in the first place. Far too often companies rush into expansion plans without doing their due diligence, leaving behind the originality from their humble beginnings and forgetting the company identity.
So how does a business expand without wavering on quality? I started out Forever Rose London in 2014, and have expanded the retail business to nine stores within the GCC, with six more planned for the coming year, including a move into the UK market. Here are my tips on how to successfully expand your business whilst maintaining quality:
1. Employee understanding When a business first starts out, employees tend to take on a variety of roles far greater than the "standard scope" of work. Having this family atmosphere, strong team network, and a common goal can often be the driving force behind the success of a business and the opportunity for expansion. As a company expands the employee roles become more defined and it is important not to leave behind what made the team great to begin with. Ensure you are having regular catch ups with new and old employees to touch base with how everything is progressing. As your employees are a continuing important factor to the growth of the business, you want to regularly check everyone is on the same page and provide a place where their opinion can be heard.
2. Monitor quality regularly In order to ensure your expansion is successful, you need to take the time to frequently check how the business is running in all departments. Although you will not be able to be in control of every area, hence why you have hired managers to take care of this for you, asking for regular updates from the different departments will allow an overview of progress, where there may be issues, and allow you and the team to make decisions on how to best resolve anything that has come up. Monthly reports and weekly catch up meetings with your managerial staff when you first expand is also key, allowing you to stay in control as well as ensure success of the expansion.
3. Focus on the customer Customers, or more over, customer satisfaction, is one of the most important elements to take into consideration when it comes to expansion. The last thing you want is for a customer to feel they are not being looked after. If you have physical stores, make sure that each time a customer visits, they are getting the same experience in every branch they walk into. Take the time to write down the customer service standards for your business and ensure these practices are put in place through training of employees, both new and old.
4. Take your time It is an exciting opportunity to know you are ready to expand and have the means to do so. It is equally important to take your time with expansion plans. Finding the right location or market for your business, as well as hiring new employees are all time consuming but important to the success of the expansion. The last thing you want to do is rush into something you are not 1oo per cent certain about and without taking the time to choose the right people for your business. You want to ensure the expansion is going to be a success so be conscientious about your efforts and make sure you are taking steps that feel right for you.
5. Setbacks Even with continual planning and research, the market can be unpredictable. Sometimes with the expansion of a new business, it can be slow to pick up. It is always a risk to expand but in order to continue growth it is an inevitable part of business, and an exciting part at that. Even with setbacks that may occur, stay true to the business practices that lead you to the opportunity to expand and it will ultimately allow you to push forward and ensure success in the long run.
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