Entrepreneurs talk frequently about the vision behind their success. This isn’t to devalue the hard work and harsh practicalities involved in establishing a sound footing for a startup, but it does identify the crucial component that no business founder can do without. Vision isn’t just a foundational element which can be filed away as part of company history. Most entrepreneurs begin with a dream but what enables them to turn it into a reality is focus, planning and tangible goals. That’s what vision means: knowing both what you aim to achieve and how to achieve it. It’s an ongoing process and it’s just as important to a multi-billion-pound business as it is to a startup or an enterprise in the act of scaling.

In the development of every business, there are definable phases and there is often confusion about the similarities and differences between growth and scaling. To put it simply, growth is expansion accompanied by significant spending, whereas scaling business is about increasing revenue without necessarily adding resources. Once you have perfected your product or service, a scaling strategy will enable you to reach more customers without exponential investment.

That’s not to say you won’t need to change. Guided by the long view of your fundamental vision, you can adapt and modify your operation to address every change in technology and the market in order to keep true to your objectives. However, of all the hurdles you encounter, it’s probably the recruitment challenges which will be the toughest to overcome. You may not be opening a new office or investing in new technology, but it is essential to scale your start-up team. As committed and skilled as your team may be, do they have the capacity for the extra hours, workload and responsibilities involved in scaling business successfully?

The answers to these and other questions about your scaling prospects can often be found by referring back to your vision for the business. It will help you judge your recruitment needs, now and in the future. You’ll be better able to determine the skills you’ll require and the urgency of acquiring them. This, in turn, will help you set short- and long-term budgets to balance the costs of hiring against the benefits of rapid scaling.

It’s always worth considering how you can maximise the talent you already have by upskilling existing staff through training programmes, but if this is not sufficient, you need to think laterally about how to locate and attract the people you need.

Networking has always been useful, and it is more effective today than ever because it now extends into the sphere of social media. It has never been easier to reach out to individuals whose aims, and ambitions match your own. If you establish a network of passive candidates and potential interest, then you will always have a strong talent pipeline to turn to, thus reducing the costs and simplifying the process of recruitment when the time comes to make important hires.

You can redouble the effectiveness of this strategy by developing and refining your employer brand, marketing it within the industry as vigorously as you promote your products to consumers. Build a reputation as an employer with an irresistible employee value proposition.

This may be easier said than done, but you don’t need to face these challenges alone. Scaling is new territory for any business and getting the best team together seems like a daunting task. That’s why one of the best decisions you can make is to work with an empathetic talent partner who can give you the benefit of their experience and expertise in finding solutions.

At rmg, we have a long track record in working with businesses to promote their employer brand, build a ready talent pool and provide access to the strongest networks of skilled, driven professionals in the Product and Design industry.

Let rmg be your perfect talent partner and transform scaling from a challenge into a triumph.