The Importance of New Blood to a Startup Fresh staff can infuse an innovative spirit at your company -- even stir the pot. Here's how a hire can serve as a great motivational force.
By Boland Jones Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
I'm constantly in pursuit of new ideas, and bringing new minds to the table is one of the best ways to find them.
My company, PGi, recently announced the acquisition of TalkPoint. In the corporate arena, acquisitions are a lot of things: scary, exciting, nerve-racking, gray-hair producing and exhausting. But regardless of whether new staffers emerge from a merger deal or you're simply bringing in a consultant to help guide your new startup, a talent infusion creates a lot of buzz among your team.
Whatever your product or service (whether you're selling handbags or turkey sandwiches), the people behind your product or service are equally if not more important.
Here are some reasons to bring new creative blood and innovative minds into your startup, whether it's a small business or a larger enterprise:
Related: 10 Things Great Talent Always Does
1. New hires are status quo destroyers.
Nothing sinks productivity and passion faster than the dreaded status quo. Constantly recycling the same ideas, processes and solutions is a quick way to destroy motivation and ruin morale. That's just as true for the CEO as it is for the entry-level associate.
But a fresh addition to your organization doesn't know the status quo. The new hire has his or her own work habits and preferences in management style and is not burdened by years of "Well, we've always done it this way."
Few things are as a beneficial to an organization, regardless of its size, as a little healthy disruption.
2. They bring a fresh set of eyes.
Everyone likes to talk about innovation, but pinning down a definition is always a little tough. While it can mean a lot of different things to different people, one way to think about it is as constantly tackling problems from different angles.
Bringing in new creative blood to an organization instantly grants you a fresh set of eyes: someone who may be looking at your problems for the very first time. He or she is not choosing an angle based on months or years of prior experience. It's tough in any industry to keep yourself distanced enough from a product or problem that you've spent years tackling to stay objective and see the big picture. A new addition to your company brings that distance.
Related: Welcoming New Team Players (After Their Startup Joined Yours)
3. They may serve as motivational speakers.
Getting employees excited about your company's brand, product or service is a constant challenge, but the buzz generated from new additions can be just the catalyst a team needs to excel.
Of course, not everyone likes change. Some people will view new personnel as a challenge or a bad omen. While some friction can be a benefit and motivate team members to step up their game, be sure to deftly communicate the benefits of the new additions.
4. They can challenge you.
New blood in an organization can challenge the company to think, act, create and sell differently.
Even if the new hires ultimately don't work out, you will learn something from their involvement, and that nugget of new information may be the spark needed to fuel your next big idea.
