A couple of weeks ago, a media report said that Kishore Biyani, has asked his family to keep off from operations of group’s various businesses so that professional managers can run the companies. It is public knowledge that Biyani has been infusing professional blood into his various group companies in an effort to corporatize the group.
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| Srikala Bhashyam |
More than a decade ago, Bangalore-based and family-run MTR group had to woo a senior official of an MNC firm for nearly an year to take up the mantle of leadership. The biggest concern for the professional candidate was the discomfort with the fact that a family-run organization or enterprise would not offer him the bandwidth for professional management.
Both above mentioned anecdotes have a common message for entrepreneurs. Quality manpower is always a constraint if the organizations don’t shed the tag of 'family ownership'. Earlier the tag is removed, better would it be for the companies to carry forward. The challenge is of even bigger magnitude in the case of sole or small enterprises, which have had to contend with increased competition. Going forward, the task is likely to get bigger in the highly competitive globalised environment.
I am sure every entrepreneur is aware of the fact that he needs to professionalise his business to move to the next level of growth. The challenge is when and how to go about the task. Is there a time frame for an enterprise to turn for external help or should one start with the task from day one? The latter is a good option if the enterprise has the financial help! Since most small and mid-sized companies face the challenge of financial and human resource management, it is imperative that they have to look at the option of professionalizing the business over a period of time.
As pointed out earlier, most entrepreneurs are aware of the fact that they need to corporatize the management but the challenging task is to when to go about the exercise. One of the pointers is lack of time for business development. When an entrepreneur suffers from lack of time for business development, it is a clear signal for manpower expansion as by not utilizing the opportunities for business growth, the opportunity cost is huge. The expansion can be two-fold. One is to have the additional resource for operational management as this would enable the entrepreneur to focus on key areas. In fact, a senior official of a leading technology services company during a chat commented, “ If you do things which can be performed by people with lower skill, you are highly under employed”. It holds good not merely for employees but also for entrepreneurs. A few simple strategies can address the problem:
1. Team for operations: While focus on business development is a necessity, an organization can be deprived of organic growth due to lack of focus on customer relationship. A robust back office and a strong CRM (customer relationship management) can address the problem. The first expansion in an organization can begin with this all important vertical. Since, talent acquisition is not a challenge in this space, put in place a strong back office/support team.
2. Empower your existing resources: Besides an entrepreneur, it is important for the employees to realize the changing phase of the organization. The task can be achieved when an employee is aware of his career path. Not only does it keep the motivational levels high but also ensures retention of talent. Irrespective of the size of the organization, communicate to your employees about the regular achievements of the organization.
3. Self empowerment: One of the big changes in the last decade has been the changing face of education system in India. Today, age is not a bar for an aspiring student and the growing integration of education system with industry has resulted in the launch of management courses for working professionals. Educational institutions like Indian Institute of Management offer management courses at regular intervals for practicing professionals. An entrepreneur can make use of the same to hone his management skills. While the areas of interest can depend on the individual/organisation’s needs, a qualified course in the areas of management and finance can do a lot of good to entrepreneurs.
4. Focus on improvement of infrastructure/resources: The first step towards an organizational growth begins within and this could be in the form of better work environment, better skilled manpower and better practices. While the latter is a relative term and is a continuous process, the earlier two factors are visible and easily appreciated by employees. For instance, a sophisticated and well-equipped office environment is a big motivator for a start-up. While garages are ideal space for start-ups, a long stint for employees in a garage does not ensure talent retention!
In a nutshell, an organisation’s transformation of small to big has to be a continuous process but the seeds for change need to be sowed at an early stage. While the timeline for the same could differ and depend on sectors, a B2C organization has to embrace some of the changes in quick time. As the going goes, it is not enough for an organization to be in the pink of health. For the next level of growth, all stakeholders, employees, customers and vendors too need to comprehend the good health of an entity.
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Srikala Bhashyam is an investment consultant and runs her own consulting firm in Bangalore. She has been a regular columnist for the print and internet media on personal finance. To write to the author, please send an email to dare@cybermedia.co.in with the subject line 'Srikala Bhashyam'. Disclaimer: The views expressed here are that of the author and do not represent the magazine's.
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