09-01-2026
Building a team to grow your business
Growing an engineering SME requires a team to run most of the day-to-day business so the CEO can focus on the future.
The team must be built in accordance with the specific requirements of the company.
For this to be successful, the CEO must adopt a different mindset.
It’s no longer about telling everyone what to do and making all the decisions.
It’s about training the team to think for themselves and learn to make decisions within the limits of their authority.
Leaders of engineering SMEs who can see the potential of growing their business quickly often struggle to find the time to make it happen.
They need to build a team to run the day-to-day business so they can focus on the future.
Building a team can be done in several ways: -
- Training, developing and giving more responsibilities to existing staff.
- Recruiting people to bring new skills and experience to the business.
- Sub-contracting work that can be performed more effectively by external suppliers.
It also requires a change of mind set by the leader.
It’s no longer about telling everyone what to do and making all the decisions.
It’s about training the team to think for themselves and learn to make decisions within the limits of their authority.
Develop the existing staff
Before embarking on a recruitment exercise to build the team, the first thing to consider is whether the skills of the existing staff could be developed so they can take on more responsibilities.
This potentially offers several advantages over external recruitment.
- Investing in the skills of current employees not only boosts morale and loyalty but also capitalises on their existing knowledge of the company's products, processes and culture.
- Promoting from within demonstrates a commitment to employee growth, potentially attracting and retaining top talent in the long run.
- Existing staff members may also require less time to become fully productive in new roles due to their familiarity with the organisation.
- This approach can be more cost-effective and time-efficient than the often lengthy and expensive process of external hiring and onboarding.
However, if some of the required skills cannot be developed internally within a reasonable timeframe, external recruitment may then be a necessary step to fill critical gaps.
Bring new people to the business
Before defining job titles and salaries, it is important to analyse the business requirements to avoid jumping to conclusions and ending up recruiting the “wrong” people.
The capacity of the business to train and integrate new recruits must also be considered carefully to avoid hiring too many people too quickly and ending up disrupting an already very busy workforce.
Recruiting requires careful preparation. Here are a few suggestions based on personal experience.
- Define the essential must-have requirements for the initial selection of CVs.
- Be prepared to be flexible on the nice-to-have requirements as candidates matching your exact requirements may not exist.
- Arrange more than one interview and more than one interviewer to get a wider perspective and a balanced assessment of candidates.
- Ensure the interviews and the recruitment process are a high priority for everyone contributing and that interviews are carefully prepared.
- Check the skills and experience of candidates using relevant and objective assessments (technical interviews, psychometric tests, references, confirmation of qualifications, etc.).
- Make sure candidates appreciate what is unique and exciting about your company, its culture and values.
- Keep the momentum and make decisions quickly as time is of the essence to avoid losing the best candidates.
Delegate, integrate, and develop people
Building a successful team requires careful management and integration of the new recruits when they join the business.
This starts with agreeing and communicating their responsibilities and authority, so they have the freedom to contribute without being micro-managed.
Beyond the initial integration of new recruits, supporting and monitoring the development of the whole team and its individual members requires constant and consistent attention.
I can help you to build your team
I work with overstretched leaders of small and medium-sized engineering companies to help them prepare their business so they can achieve profitable growth.
To work out a strategy to address your specific challenges, please use the link below to arrange a FREE 30-minute conversation.