Is Your Business a Small Business?

Consider hiring generalists rather than specialists….

Too often small businesses focus on hiring individuals with specialist skills early on in the business. I have seen a fair number of small businesses fail because the right folks weren’t in place to help the business get off the ground. First, let’s define the two: Specialists are individuals who have expert knowledge in a particular field – for example, an accountant or CPA or a Java software developer or a divorce attorney. Generalists, on the other hand, have a wide array of knowledge and are not necessarily expert in any one field or one area. So, looking at an example – a specialist in Human Resources may focus on benefits or compensation or recruiting; however a Human Resource Generalist will be responsible for all areas of human resources within a company – benefits, compensation, training, recruiting, etc. As you can imagine – small businesses, most especially in those early start-up years, will benefit from generalists to help build the business.

Generalists have the ability to wear many hats in the business. They frequently are those individuals who will pitch in to meet goals and objectives without worrying about whether or not it is their job. I have found that generalists are generally able to learn quicker and adapt to rapidly changing situations – they enjoy new challenges and learning something new. Frequently this is due to the fact that they bring a variety of skills and experiences to bear rather than just having focused on one particular area in their work career.

A key benefit to small businesses is that generalists can, or often are eager to, take on many roles within the business. As the business expands, they can help the business owner to get new areas of the business off the ground – whether it is a marketing department, launch of a new product, or creating a formalized organizational structure.

Your thoughts?

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