The contracts follow one another, the team is growing... Your business is growing rapidly.
These are very good signals, who doesn't dream of seeing their business take off? However, growing too fast can sometimes lead to problems and an increased risk of disorganization.
In the long run, various problems could lead your business to a loss. Some of the risks include:
This is the first thing to take into account: when things go too fast, you can quickly lose control. In a company that is growing too quickly, you can quickly find yourself no longer knowing what is happening on construction sites: who does what and where did all these tools purchased last month go? Seeing your customer portfolio double is a good sign, but it also means that you will have to quickly organize yourself differently.
Fast growth means more work for everyone. It's exciting at first, but it can quickly become a nightmare. This often results in overtime, more mistakes, heatstroke, injuries... In short, in the long run, it is the perfect recipe for burn-out and the resignation of your employees.
Rapid growth means hiring new employees. The company then finds itself with lots of new heads, who are not yet familiar with the company's values. Team dynamics can change, and it's important that this transition is smooth to keep your employees working together and keep your business productive and profitable.
Facing rapid growth generally means more expenses: more employees to pay, more equipment to buy, etc. But beware, cash inflows do not always follow the same pace and you can quickly run out of cash. It is therefore important to anticipate and to have a irreproachable accounting management to alleviate this problem.
The difference between healthy growth and growth that is too intense is not always obvious. You may very well be taking full advantage of the growth of your business without realizing that you are in serious trouble. To help you tell the difference, here are some symptoms that should alert you:
If you start to lose track of your projects, to do Payroll errors or missing deadlines, it's probably because you're starting to get disorganized. And that's a bad sign! Your internal processes may not allow you to absorb so many customers all at once!
Having more customers can quickly become synonymous with less time. And who says less time, probably means less careful work and customers who are probably starting to complain. Quality is critical to your reputation and necessary to get new contracts, you don't have to sacrifice it for quantity.
If your turnover starts to increase, it shows that there is a problem in your teams, and more generally in your corporate culture. High turnover can mean, among other things, that your guys are stressed, overloaded, or unmotivated, with an obvious impact on their personal lives. If you have to train new hires all the time, that's going to require a lot of time and resources at this critical time. It's a bad strategy.
If the news doesn't flow well, or if your teams don't talk to each other anymore, it's probably because your growth is beginning to escape you. Poor communication opens the door to internal conflicts, project delays, and additional costs. This can lead to other bigger problems, such as non-compliance with delivery deadlines or the resignation of your workers.
As we have seen, rapid growth (or “scale” to use the language of startups) can prove to be a daunting trap for your business. Choosing healthy and controlled growth is often slower, but much more sustainable!
Growing slowly means taking the time to adjust your processes, to offer training to your teams and to ensure that the quality of each project delivered is maintained, while maintaining a good working atmosphere within your teams. Controlled growth will allow you to keep control of your construction sites! And we know it: happy customers who talk about you well equates to the best marketing campaign!
But most importantly, growing slowly allows you to keep an eye on your finances. No hidden costs, fewer mistakes, just healthy growth that ensures you can pay your bills and employees on time. Controlling the inflows and outflows of money, quietly, means ensuring better financial health for your business, quite simply.
In the construction industry, there are several effective strategies to optimize the operation and performance of your growing business. Of course, this is not about offering ready-made solutions, because each business is different and requires a suitable program, but you will be able to find some interesting ideas according to your perspectives.
If you plan to perform over the long term, taking the time to think about your goals, your means, and the steps to get there will be an essential step in getting there. In particular, you can use planning software such as Civalgo to plan your construction sites, and optimize the allocation of your resources for example.
Growth brings with it its share of new topics, and management tools are one of them. Gone are the days when you could rely on An Excel timesheet, you must now be able to monitor the progress of activities on construction sites in real time for more efficiency! These tools may require time to adapt and train your employees, but most platforms offer turnkey training when you buy project management software.
In summary, it is essential for a construction contractor to rely on solid assets to ensure the growth of his business and avoid too rapid growth. In addition to a competent team and an effective management system, effectively managing a construction company will most likely require the evolution of your internal processes. Remember to document these changes well, so that your staff can adapt accordingly! This is a particularly important and delicate subject for your site managers, who must be able to monitor the progress of all construction projects in real time.
A well-managed small business is better than a hyper-growing machine that is completely unmanageable. In this case, managing a construction company can seem complicated, and that's the case! For successful growth, focus instead on slow and controlled growth. This will allow you to adapt sustainably and healthily to the new configuration of your business.
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