Internal Talent Development

I am the Human Resources and Administration Manager for a start-up Manufacturing business. We’ve been in operation for three years, and the business broke even at the end of 2023. As part of the growth strategy, we have expanded our capacity.  The expansion programme will last at least seven months, from ordering equipment to installation and commissioning. This is all exciting for the team, but I am anxious about finding the right talent for the business. Many skills are hard to find. I have been advised that we have a limited budget for recruitment. How do you advise me to approach this strategic challenge? Molly.

Hello Molly, congratulations on staying with a start-up company this long; many professionals would usually resign since being part of a start-up and, more so, in this economic landscape, is daunting.  In addition, that your company broke even only three years ago is a miracle. So first recognise the achievements.

Recruitment for manufacturing is very hard, and the reality is many of the needed skills are not “ready-made”, unlike roles such as Administration, etc. That’s not to say that finding a good Administration officer is easy, but it’s easier than finding an engineer.  I also know that many of the staff you are probably looking for may not have finished formal education, making your role more difficult.

One way to think through this challenge if first understand what roles will be required in the expansion and fully understand what they are required to do for the business. You then should quickly conduct an organisation-wide skills audit. If your teams have been with you for three years, reviewing their current skill levels should be relatively easy. I suspect that over the three years, they have developed the skills and abilities that have enabled you to break even.

You, together with the managers, should then analyse your skills audit and assess which staff have the potential to fit in the new roles. They may not have all the skills, but they may meet 70% of the role requirements. You must recognise their current gaps and then set up an internal development program that helps you close them. Seven months of lead time is a good time to coach and upskill staff.  The upskilling may include supporting them to enhance their technical knowledge, either supporting them to get some form of certification or you may want to bring in a technical expert to train the staff. Remember, the cost will come from your learning and development/ training budget.

The audit should cover the whole organisation, including the leadership; I suspect your Exco members will also need leadership upskilling to help them adjust to managing bigger teams, larger budgets, etc. Also, be mindful that in this day and age, the role of supervisors is more than just managing technical delivery; they must also be equipped to manage HR problems at their team levels.

The benefit of taking this first step is that you are also setting the foundation for your succession planning intervention, so while in the short term, it addresses the immediate need to identify and place competent staff in the right roles, it also sets the foundation for ensuring business continuity through internal skills development that results in an effective succession pipeline.

Good Luck

Caroline Mboijana,

Managing Director, The Leadership Team (U) 

[email protected]