Preparing to hire your first C-suite as a growing SME

Building a business isn’t for the faint-hearted. It takes commitment, vision, and hours and hours of hard work – and that’s all before you’ve even made your first sale or registered your first customer.

If you’ve made it through these first tough years and are hitting your stride and moving into a new phase of growth, perhaps with some fresh investment or funding, then it could be time to kick things up a notch and bring in some senior expertise to help deliver on your ambitions. That’s where your shiny new C-suite comes in.

But how do you know when the time is right to start building out your C-suite? How can you make sure that increasing your headcount at the top brings the return on investment that you need and that the people you bring in stick around to see the project through?

Here’s some guidance to help you get the timing right and find candidates that will grow with you.

Getting started with your search

Often founders and senior leaders within growing businesses feel like they're doing 3 or 4 different jobs, no matter what their job title is. Sound familiar?

It’s not uncommon for the tasks and strategic ownership to span multiple functions, some of which will be related to your skills and experiences and others that are less linked to your core strengths. But you show up and you do it because in a growth SME, particularly in those early years, everyone needs to muck in to keep things moving and get to the point that hiring strategic specialists to ease the burden becomes feasible.

However, even when the time comes to consider bringing in C-suite level hires, there are funding constraints and cash flow to consider. Those 3 or 4 jobs you or your colleagues are currently holding down to keep the business afloat? It’s not possible to fill them all at once.

So, how can you prioritise and better understand where any real gaps or blockers are?

My advice is to take the time to document the work you do, what's taking your head space, where are the decisions being made, what needs driving and start grouping it by function. You’ll end up with either a merge between a list of duties, decisions, projects and potentially a loose job description that allows you to then figure out what the job level is right now and what it could be in the future. The real trigger for a senior hire is when both things are true at once: the function has become material enough that you being its ceiling is now a business risk, and it's complex enough to need its own strategy and its own team.

This work should also demonstrate whether or not there's a return on investment to be made from freeing your time up to focus on other things and how that weighs up versus the spend you’d make on additional headcount that comes with a significant salary. If the numbers don’t make sense, then the timing isn’t right.

Finding the best fit for your growth SME C-Suite

Not everyone with senior experience is right for a Growth SME. Your business at this point in time has very particular needs and is changing all the time. Someone who has achieved well in a comfortable legacy corporate may lack the flexibility and adaptability needed to grow a business.

The people you hire into your C-suite need to be able to handle the state of your operation as it is right now. Growth can be messy and people often need to be hands-on to get the work done. If people aren't used to this or have been in a bigger role where they did little doing and were able to focus purely on strategy, they might not stick around if the reality of their role in your business feels like too much of a backwards step. They may not be able to cope with the stress or find calm in the chaos, which is a valuable skillset in its own right, one that makes a huge difference to direct reports and your overall culture.

But also remember this: You’re hiring for your future company, not just the one you have today. Think ahead 12 months if you can, considering the growth of your workforce and your ambitions. The people you hire into your C-suite need to understand this vision and the steps you need to take to get there. They’ve got to grow with your business and be willing to adapt as it changes.

This forward-thinking exercise will also help you pitch your job description at the right level. There may be some criteria you want to add that aren’t mandatory for your current stage but will be vital as you move forward.

How to avoid making the wrong hire

Being able to bob and weave and adjust to continuously evolving conditions, both internally and externally, if you're going through fast growth phases, isn’t for everyone. Not everybody wants to be part of the journeys a growth SME goes through.

When you’re reviewing CVs and interviewing potential hires, prioritise understanding candidates’ comfort level working in this kind of environment. A candidate may have everything you want on paper, but if their mindset isn’t a fit and you don’t recognise this during the interviewing period, you risk hiring someone who might leave just when you really need them. This could be devastating for your growth.

That’s why it’s so important to be transparent about the current state of your business and the level of involvement you need from your team to keep chasing growth. Own your status as a growth SME – talk about everything you’ve achieved so far and all it took to get there. Make your vision clear but also talk about your expectations of the people around you.

Some will jump at the chance to get involved with a project like yours. For others, it’s not a fit. The only way to understand how someone views an opportunity like yours is to be honest. Sometimes, the right choice might be the candidate with less experience but more willingness and potential to thrive in a growth SME environment over the more experienced candidate who would struggle to find their way in a fast-paced workplace.

Working with executive search specialists

If all of this feels overwhelming then working with a specialist executive search firm can make your life a lot easier. With their expertise and knowledge of your business and growth ambitions, a specialist can help you refine the job description, bring in the best candidates, and help you shape the assessment period to find someone who’s going to stick with you through all the challenges of growth.

People make or break your growth. Mistakes at this stage can be hugely impactful and limit your potential. A specialist can help you avoid these mistakes.

Looking to make your first C-suite hires and hit your growth goals? We specialise in working with growth SMEs as they chase their ambitions, working as a long-term partner to set you up with the right people at the right time in your growth. Get in touch today to discuss your plans and how we can help you get there.