Growing Pains
Growing Pains
2007-03-01
CMA Management
By Rieschi, Gail
Expanding your business while keeping your employees happy can be a challege. But with open communication, and an understanding of the employee/employer relationship dynamic, it can benefit all involved.
Mason, the owner of an established, small and successful IT firm, was very excited last year after receiving news of some big contract wins. His firm had just landed several long-term general maintenance contracts that promised to double his revenues on a predictable basis. It was an electrifying moment for a company that had built a strong reputation by delivering ad hoc, on-demand IT support services.
He quickly made operational changes to accommodate this growth and created departments along functional lines. Several of his senior technicians were appointed department managers and the technical staff doubled. Intent on continuing this growth trend and with a management team in place, Mason withdrew from day-to-day operations to concentrate on new business development.
Within a short time, however, Mason's customers (new and old) started to complain about delays and poor service. Mason wondered what was going wrong but had trouble pinpointing the cause. Shouldn't his business have expanded, or at least remained at the same level, with more employees and larger contracts?
Mason's experience is not unique. Many companies undergoing rapid growth face similar problems. Generally, senior management is quick to make the necessary operational adjustments but, with their focus primarily on meeting customer commitments, they often overlook the impact the adjustments have on the corporate culture and employee morale.
The importance of culture
An organization's culture reflects it's underlying values and interests, controls its operations (structure; process; people) and prescribes acceptable work styles, methods and behaviours.
Any...
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