Who doesn’t dream of dazzling growth for his company? It promises a consequent development that reassures the leaders. But it also brings new challenges and requires the ability to respond to problems that were very different from those of the early days of the company. Hypergrowth generates a certain satisfaction, but it also requires a review of the entire organization, recruitment and fund management. In an Ifop survey for KPMG, 100 leaders of high and hyper-growth companies shared their experience with this situation.
A consequence of employee investment
Hypergrowth in a company involves many changes in a very short time. It is usually the result of a craze for a product or a service thanks to a dynamic in the company’s sector of activity. Of the 100 executives surveyed by Ifop, 45% cited this as the reason. In second place, the reason for hypergrowth is essentially explained by a good corporate culture and a good state of mind among employees for 40% of managers. Employees play a significant role in the development of a company. An investment by all can lead to hyper growth. This can be seen as good news, but it requires securing various elements of the company. If it is not controlled, the consequences can be catastrophic for the continuation of the activity. For the majority of managers interviewed, growth was stimulated by internal initiatives using the company’s resources and experts.
Difficulties in maintaining growth
Strong growth in a company requires a review of the organization of the structure. A change in the activity leads to a transformation of the teams, but also to the development of services that sometimes did not exist before. In order not to fail in the face of growth, companies are obliged to review their organization. Of all the managers questioned in the Ifop study, 57% said they had had difficulties in recruiting to meet the company’s needs. 37% mentioned cash management issues and 22% said that internal governance was a problem during the company’s growth. It is relatively complicated to deal with this without being impacted on various fronts. It leads to a change in the company’s functions, particularly in production (33%), marketing and sales (36%) and research and development (22%). Such changes force companies to rethink their strategy and recruit to meet the growing needs. Hypergrowth therefore requires particular attention to recruitment and the position to adopt in the market.
What are the answers to cope with hyper growth?
For the majority of managers interviewed in the study, the functions mentioned above (production, marketing and sales, R&D) must be developed accordingly to maintain the high growth rate. These functions are the most important for a company and it is important to review their structure in order not to lose the pace achieved. In this perspective, executives believe that it is useful to invest in new solutions to stay on course. 37% say they want to invest in production and/or R&D tools in the next few years, 27% are considering internationalizing their company and 35% intend to strengthen performance and management control. For these entrepreneurs, these steps are essential for the proper development of their structure and to be able to continue to envisage hyper growth over several years.
As with any change, everyday tools must also be rethought within companies. Technology issues play an important role in maintaining competitiveness in the market. For 23%, the cloud and dematerialization are helping to maintain strong growth. The latter is accompanied by the implementation of new tools to make life easier for customers, but also for employees. Others plan to focus on robotization, cybersecurity, Big Data analysis or the implementation of AI (Artificial Intelligence).
For companies, maintaining growth is done through digital transformation. It is mainly used by employees to digitalize internal functions and thus keep up with the times. 57% are thinking of investing or have already invested in “technological tools to accelerate the digitalization of internal functions” and 54% in “digital training for their employees”. As stated in the study, hypergrowth is mainly driven by employees and the company culture. The objective for the structures is to facilitate the work of the employees with digital solutions. They are the very essence of a company’s growth and managers have understood this by choosing to invest in HR solutions. Among the respondents, 36% and 38% respectively believe that it is necessary to implement initiatives for well-being and the work environment, while the remainder want to focus on capital incentives for the best talents.
Hypergrowth often remains a satisfying stage for a manager, but it requires a review of the organization of the company. Managers adapt the situation with various and essential solutions such as prioritizing new functions but also investing in new tools and especially focusing on employees, the ultimate essence of a company.
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