How to Strategically Grow Your Team

After receiving new funding or realigning your strategy, your organisation may require additional resources to deliver its mission, vision and values. If your organisation is ready to expand your team strategically, here are 5 tips to take into consideration.

1. Assess and Refine

When developing a new job description, be sure to lead with your vision, mission, and values. Keep these key factors front of mind when scoping out role requirements to ensure that you attract individuals who possess the capabilities to address identified gaps and drive success.
Particularly, if you have recently taken a collaborative approach to the future of your organisation through developing a Strategic Plan or Organisational Review, now is the perfect time to define the specific skills and experience needed to complement your existing team.

 

2. Resource Allocation

Oftentimes, organisations can underestimate the cost associated with undertaking the recruitment process internally. Consider the costs associated with recruitment, onboarding, and ongoing salaries when reviewing your financial resources, and determine a realistic budget for team expansion. Furthermore, ensure you set a realistic timeline for how long the process will take – including the opportunity cost of working on the recruitment process, as opposed to other internal priorities. Plan for future growth beyond immediate needs and consider roles that can scale and adapt alongside your expanding organisation.

 

3. Consider External Support

After you’ve outlined your resources, you may find that time limitation is a concern. If you’re seeking a hands-off approach to growing your team, our Talent Services team provide an end-to-end recruitment process that is committed to more than just filling roles.

We seek to ensure that all candidates placed by our team succeed within their new roles and believe when a candidate is successful in their role, it allows the organisation to succeed in its mission. In 2023, we successfully filled 31 roles for a range of social impact organisations. Of those, a handful were filled in partnership with established HR teams who struggled to fill a role directly and approached us due to our track record of sourcing strong candidates. These organisations invested in our services to utilise our extensive network in the social impact space and to minimise any further loss of internal resources.

 

4. Nurturing Graduate Talent

The investment for experienced employees can sometimes be prohibitive. Instead, hiring a graduate on a 12-month contract can provide you with cost-effective access to skilled labour without the long-term financial commitment. The time you invest in managing and mentoring them on their path to self-sufficiency can have significant rewards.

We launched the For Purpose Social Impact Graduate Programme as we see the benefit of nurturing early career professionals. Hiring a graduate allows you to hire for potential and build your team over time, benefiting your organisation long-term. In 2023, 65% of our graduates remained within their organisation upon the completion of the programme and have since moved into more senior roles. Therefore, nurturing emerging graduate talent can lead to the creation of a strong and diverse team in the long-term.

5. Foster a Seamless Onboarding Experience

Successful onboarding fosters a sense of belonging and sets the stage for long-term success. Develop a robust onboarding programme that incorporates a warm welcome and sets clear expectations. Additionally, try to assign a member of your team to provide onboarding training – it’s important to ensure your new team member is valued and supported from the outset.

By following these steps, you will be taking the first steps to building a strategic, high-performing team that surpasses expectations and contributes significantly to your organisation’s success.

 

Require further assistance?

If you’re considering expanding your team, but require support in doing so, contact Shannon Barrett, Head of Talent Services at shannon.barrett@2into3.com or visit here for more information.