People Management: How to Handle a Growing Workforce

As companies evolve and expand, one of the primary challenges leaders' faces is effectively managing an ever-growing workforce. While growth is typically a sign of success, it can pose a challenge as it becomes harder for you to maintain the same level and attention for everyone on your team. As more and more roles are created --- each one more complex than the other --- it becomes harder for you to ensure that each employee is aligned with your company's goals. 

Although it may be a daunting task, keep in mind that as a manager, it is your primary responsibility to ensure everyone in your workforce is given the attention, resources, and training they need to perform to the best of their ability. To do this, your management style should transition from micromanaging to macromanaging without sacrificing quality. 

To aid your transition, there are a few things you can note as you adopt a macromanagement leadership style. 

Embrace Scalable Leadership 

One of the first steps to managing a growing workforce is to adopt a scalable leadership approach. This means that leaders must be adaptable and flexible in their management style, as what works for a small team may not work for a larger one. Embracing scalable leadership involves understanding that leadership practices must evolve as the organization expands. 

To accomplish this, invest in leadership development as your teams expand, equipping leaders with vital skills like delegation, communication, and conflict resolution. Foster a culture of leadership at all levels, empowering team leads and managers to take charge. Set clear expectations by defining roles and responsibilities for both leaders and team members to ensure everyone understands their roles in achieving organizational success. 

Prioritize Communication 

Effective communication is the cornerstone of people management, and it becomes even more critical as a workforce grows. Maintaining an open line of communication with employees at all levels is key to ensuring that everyone feels heard and valued. 

Establish regular feedback channels for employee input to allow them to feel seen and heard. Ensure you are getting the opinion of everyone in your company and taking it into account when making important company decisions. By building a culture of communication and transparency, you are able to continue building trust with your employees even as they start to grow. 

Effective Task Delegation 

Delegation is a fundamental skill for leaders with large teams. Effective delegation involves entrusting team members with tasks and responsibilities, empowering them to take ownership and contribute to the company’s success. 

As your team expands, make sure you are training your fellow managers to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their team members and know how to delegate tasks according to everyone's job description. By doing this, you are showing your team that you know them well enough to assign work that not only will they be able to accomplish but will be of excellent quality – retaining the quality of your operations despite the growing workforce.  

Prioritize Employee Welfare 

As a workforce expands, it's easy for leaders to become detached from the well-being of individual employees. However, maintaining a focus on employee well-being remains essential for employee satisfaction and retention. 

This is why as your company grows, you must prioritize planning events and activities alongside providing benefits and avenues for them to feel supported. By planning social events and activities outside of your company’s typical workday, you are sending a message to your employees that not only do you encourage work-life balance but are taking active steps to ensure that your employees embody it as well.  

Adapt to New Management Tools 

As your workforce grows, you may need to adopt new management tools and technologies to help streamline processes and maintain effective people management. This could include project management software, HR information systems, and other tools that enhance communication and collaboration. 

Along with your company’s IT department, study management tools available to you and see which suits your company’s size and needs. By doing this, you secure the maintenance of communication channels, business continuity and the like as your company’s workforce grows. Should you change management tools, remember to train your team in using them to make sure that you are able to fulfill your duty as their manager effectively using your chosen management tools.   

A growing workforce is one of the main indicators that your company is doing well so when you do see the need to hire more people and expand your operations – think of it as a positive problem and turn it into an opportunity to make your operations more efficient without sacrificing your prioritization of your employees.  

D&V Philippines provides scalable finance and accounting solutions that can adapt to any landscape. If you’re interested in learning more about our services, schedule a free consultation with us or download our Employees to Partners whitepaper to see how we value our talents! 

This article has been written in collaboration with Aly Tagamolila, a content specialist at D&V Philippines.