Founding employees

Is it time to say goodbye to your founding employees?

The story of how your company began – perhaps in a basement, garage or home study, involving only two or three people and ample derring-do – may be something that you look back on fondly. But are those original team members from five to 10 years ago still as valuable to your business, or are they finding themselves outpaced by your organisation’s growth?

There’s no shame in admitting that certain workers who may have given their all for the company down the years, may not be so suitable for your firm’s needs today.

The truth is that if your employees aren’t growing at the same pace as your business, conflicts, bottlenecks and mistakes may start to become ever-more frequent. This could imperil your prospects of future growth. But do those old employees of yours need to be moved on, or could you re-engage them to keep them as indispensable to you as they were back in the day?

Here are some patterns or developments that, if spotted, should give you cause to think.

 

You seem to be the only outward-looking one left

When you look around at your team, do you get the impression that your employees are still as inspired and driven to learn, develop and ideate as they were when your business started? Or do you feel like the only one who’s still doing ‘blue-sky thinking’ or keeping an eye on competitors or wider market trends?

It might be that formerly effervescent workers of yours are becoming ground down by the sheer quantity of accounts or transactions they now have to deal with. They may lack the emotional energy to perform the creative work that they once did, so are focused squarely on day-to-day duties.

 

There are signs of employee stress and anxiety

Are staffers snapping at each other over what would have previously seemed relatively minor issues? Do some other employees almost seem to have done a disappearing act, compared to their previous high levels of energy and engagement? Some workers of yours may feel exhausted, as if they have barely any more to give.

 

Mistakes seem to be creeping in

Have there been hiccups in a few of your client relationships lately? Maybe you’re seeing a heightened number of complaints in response to repeated mistakes from the same team members? Do your workers have the same time or energy to focus on quality controls as they once did?

 

Employees aren’t fully embracing new initiatives or processes

There may be certain things that everyone agrees need to be done – such as managing the company payroll or producing content for the blog – but which your employees don’t seem to be fully getting to grips with, for whatever reason. They might be doing their best, but they may be making a lot of amateur errors due to a lack of expertise, or may be forced to keep returning to their core duties.

If the above problems sound familiar to you, it may be time to stand back, assess your employees’ present strengths and weaknesses, and consider whether or not staffing changes could reinvigorate your company.

 

As some of the leading online recruiters in the UK, Webrecruit’s own staffers are ready and waiting to assist you with any future hiring campaigns.



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