Designing Startup Operations That Don’t Break as You Grow

In the early days of a startup, a bit of chaos can generally feel (and be) quite normal – after all, everyone’s wearing multiple hats, systems are in people’s heads rather than written down, and problems don’t tend to be too big because the team and the business is small, so they get dealt with and solved pretty quickly.

The trouble, of course, comes when things start to grow and those ways of working can’t keep up anymore. That’s why it’s wise to design startup operations that grow with the business – it’s actually one of the most important things you can do. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more.

Build Systems For The Team You’re Going To Have

A lot of startups design their operations around their current size, which does make sense, and it will work for a while. But it won’t work forever, and when you get bigger, those systems are going to be a problem more than anything else. So it’s a good rule of thumb to ask whether a process would still make sense if the team got bigger – if the answer is no, it’s probably worth adjusting sooner rather than later. 

Don’t worry about scrapping everything and starting from the beginning – you can just make sure you choose tools and systems that are easy to expand without needing a full reset every few months. 

Clarity Will Always Beat Speed 

Moving fast when you’ve got work to do and a business to run is always going to be important, but clarity is what really keeps things moving, which is why things like clear roles, simple documentation, and letting people know what’s expected of them is crucial. The fact is that when people know how things work, decisions get easier, and they won’t all be left to one person to deal with, which means the business is sure to run a lot more smoothly. 

Design For Humans, Not Just Output 

Designing operations isn’t just about productivity and good output – it’s also about how people experience work day to day, and there are some small details that can really affect morale, focus, and even energy a lot more than you might think. 

As teams grow, things like shared spaces and everyday comfort start to matter more and more, and things like break rooms, access to food, and how people recharge during the day all play a role. In fact, some growing companies even use office micro markets to make this all a lot easier because it means people have access to snacks and essentials without making things complicated. 

Avoid Single Points Of Failure 

If only one person knows how something works, that’s a risk. And good operations are the ones that let other people have that knowledge so they can take on some of the responsibility. That could mean cross-training, shared access to systems, or maybe clear handover processes to help prevent any problems if someone’s away or leaves completely. 

And the bigger the business gets, the more important it is that more than one person knows how things work.

This is a contributed post.