Is Your Company Growing – And Getting Less Efficient
By VICKY BROWN
You know what’s interesting about growth? Everyone wants it. We chase it. We celebrate it. But sometimes, when we get it – we’re not ready for it.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Growth is good. But unmanaged growth? That’s like trying to drink from a fire hose. And I’m seeing it more and more with my clients. They’re growing – which is fantastic. But they’re actually getting less efficient.
Let me paint you a picture. Remember when decisions were quick and easy? Three people in a room, boom – done. Now it takes three meetings, two committees, and a task force just to decide what color to paint the break room.
And it’s not just decisions that are slowing down. Suddenly projects that used to take a week are stretching into a month. Customer complaints are ticking up. And your costs? They’re growing faster than your revenue.
You’re working harder than ever, but getting less done. And you’re probably wondering – what happened?
Well, here’s the deal. As your company grows, complexity creeps in. Those processes that worked perfectly when you had 5 people? They start breaking down at 15. And they completely fall apart at 30.
Let’s talk about communication. When you were small, everyone knew everything. Now? Information gets stuck, twisted, or lost between departments. Messages that used to take 5 minutes now bounce around for days.
You used to walk across the room and ask Sarah a question. She’d give you an answer, and you’d move forward. But now? You send an email to Sarah’s department head, who forwards it to the team lead, who puts it on the next team meeting agenda, which isn’t until next Tuesday. Meanwhile, your client is waiting, your deadline is approaching, and that simple question has turned into a week-long waiting game.
And it’s not just about the time delay. The message itself starts changing. By the time it reaches Sarah, it’s gone through three different interpretations. Now Sarah’s answering a question you weren’t even asking. Or worse, she’s working on something completely different from what you needed.
You’re playing telephone with your business operations. And every time a message has to bounce between departments or climb up and down the management ladder, you’re losing time, clarity, and momentum.
This communication slog isn’t just frustrating – it’s expensive. Think about all the hours your team spends in meetings to clarify messages that could have been handled in a five-minute conversation. Think about the projects that stall because people are waiting for answers. Think about the opportunities you miss because you can’t move quickly anymore.
And don’t even get me started on process bottlenecks. Those manual spreadsheets that Sarah manages? They worked fine before. But now they’re a massive roadblock. Everyone’s waiting on updates, double-checking numbers, fixing errors.
When it was just your core team, those manual processes made sense. Sarah could handle the scheduling spreadsheet, update the customer tracking document, and manage the project timeline – all while doing her regular job. No problem. She knew the system inside and out, and it worked.
But now? Sarah’s become an unintentional bottleneck. Even the most detailed person will make mistakes when they’re juggling too many manual tasks. A number gets typed wrong, a formula breaks, a row gets accidentally deleted. Now you’ve got people making decisions based on incorrect data. And finding these errors? That’s a whole other time sink. Your team is spending hours cross-checking numbers instead of moving projects forward.
And here’s what really keeps me up at night – what happens when Sarah takes a vacation? Or gets sick? Or decides to take another job? Your entire operation suddenly hinges on one person managing multiple manual processes that exist mostly in their head. That’s not a scalable system – that’s a risk waiting to become a crisis.
Then there’s the overhead costs. This one sneaks up on you. You start adding layers of management, more administrative staff, new systems. Before you know it, your overhead is growing faster than your actual business operations.
“… As your company grows, complexity creeps in. Those processes that worked perfectly when you had 5 people? They start breaking down at 15. And they completely fall apart at 30.”
And then there’s our old friend, technology. Those basic tools that got you started? Well, they’re probably holding you back now. You’ve outgrown them, but you’re still trying to make them work because, well, they’re familiar.
Another thing I see a lot of (and it’s really a sneaky one) cultural drift. Remember your company’s core values? The ones that made you special? Well, they can get diluted as you grow. New people come in, old habits change, and suddenly your team isn’t quite as aligned as they used to be.
When you started – your values weren’t just words on a wall – they were part of every decision, every client interaction, every hire. Your whole team could finish each other’s sentences when it came to what your company stood for. But growth changes that equation.
You bring in new people – good people, skilled people – but they didn’t live through those early days. They didn’t help build those values from the ground up. So instead of your culture shaping them, they start reshaping your culture. Not intentionally, but it happens. One small decision at a time, one tiny compromise after another.
And before you know it, you’re looking around your company and something feels…off. Maybe your famous customer service isn’t quite so attentive anymore. Maybe that innovative spirit that drove your early success has been replaced by “that’s how we do things here.” Maybe your team that used to jump at new challenges is now more focused on protecting their turf
Your company’s growing, but its soul? That special sauce that made you different? It’s getting thinner by the day.
But here’s the good news – you can fix this. You can grow AND maintain efficiency. But you’ve got to be intentional about it.
First, invest in scalable systems. Stop patching together solutions. Look for tools that can grow with you. Yes, they might cost more upfront, but they’ll save you money in the long run.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur jumping into a leadership role, a seasoned business pro with new HR responsibilities, or just starting your HR career – we’ve got the right path to guide you through your HR hurdles.
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Next, make continuous improvement part of your culture. Don’t wait for problems to become emergencies. Regular check-ins on your processes, your systems, your workflows – make that a habit.
Simplify everything you can. Every process, every procedure should be as streamlined as possible. If it takes seven steps, ask yourself if it could be done in five. Or three.
And most importantly – and this is where your leadership really matters – keep your team focused on what’s important. Clear priorities. Clear goals. Clear communication.
Remember, growth shouldn’t mean chaos. It should mean opportunity. Opportunity to build something better, stronger, more efficient.
Take a good look at your company right now. Are decisions taking longer? Are things falling through the cracks? Are costs creeping up faster than revenue? These are all warning signs that your growth might be outpacing your efficiency.
But don’t panic. This is actually a good problem to have. It means you’re successful enough to have these challenges. Now you just need to solve them.
So start by mapping out your key processes. Where are the bottlenecks? Where are things getting stuck? Be honest about what’s not working anymore.
Then prioritize. You can’t fix everything at once, so focus on the changes that will have the biggest impact. Maybe it’s upgrading your project management system. Maybe it’s restructuring your communication channels. Maybe it’s automating those manual processes that are slowing everyone down.
The key is to act now, before inefficiency becomes your new normal. Because here’s the truth – growth without efficiency isn’t sustainable. But growth with efficiency? Well, that’s how you build a company that lasts.
You’ve worked too hard to let growth slow you down. So take control. Make the changes you need to make. Build the foundation that will support your next level of growth.
Because the goal isn’t just to get bigger. It’s to get better. And that means growing smarter, not just faster.