From risk to growth – navigating the path to success in a fast-growing IT company

Working for a fast-growing company is presented by employers as an advantage. However, along with the interesting opportunities that the employee receives, he will have to go through difficulties that are a side effect of intensive development. Why do high-growth companies have a high rotation of personnel and how to adapt to the peculiarities of their corporate environment?

There is a real “boom” of fast-growing companies in Russia: according to the Spark-Interfax rating, in 2023 the number of businesses increasing revenue by at least 10% in the last four years increased by 65% to 1,711 organizations. At the same time, the list includes only companies with revenues of more than 101 million rubles a year – these are representatives of medium-sized businesses that have the potential to turn into large companies. In the first place in terms of revenue growth there are suppliers of computer equipment and software, which in 2023 increased revenue by 77% on average.

Of course, financial growth is accompanied by staff expansion. For example, at Innostage, with revenue growth of 53% in 2023, the number of employees increased by 18%.

The organizational structure, product portfolio and business lines may change – teams must adapt to these changes. Transformation opens up new career opportunities, but at the same time it can cause pressure on employees and bring discomfort to working days. Let’s figure out what opportunities and risks await employees of a fast-growing company.

Native element for experimenters and careerists

Career growth. Business growth is provided by new clients, projects, and products. Each new direction needs a leader. Often this role is taken by a team member who has shown his leadership qualities and has sufficient competencies in this area. In a fast-growing company, you can climb 1-2 steps on the career ladder in a couple of years.
Professional growth. Companies are launching new services and products, and for this, they need specialists. Rarely, a team for a new direction is attracted from the foreign market – often already working employees join it, who are interested in developing in a new area. In addition, projects are becoming more complicated, and new features are added to products – AI and other advanced technologies. All this allows to expand competencies, immersing in own profession and mastering related specializations.
The team. Often in a fast-growing company, special people gather – ambitious, proactive, creative ones (technical specialists also know how to be creative). The start-up vibe is what they value most. Not only is it a pleasure to work with such people – you can learn a lot from them. Which is especially valuable for young professionals.
Innovative approaches. Fast-growing companies provide a field for experiments: they launch innovative products, test new features, introduce advanced technologies. Here you can get acquainted with the most advanced practices available on the market.
Corporate “extras”. Often the corporate environment is created taking into account the latest trends in human capital management – there are tools for comfortable remote work, training and development tracks are available, loyalty programs with elements of gamification are introduced, large-scale events are held, etc.

Turbulence and high workload

The picture would look too blissful, if not for the difficulties that are inevitable when working in a fast-growing company. Many of these stem from advantages.

Constant changes. Due to the high dynamics of the business, the organizational structure has to be rebuilt. This translates into internal transfers of employees, reorganization of departments, new appointments and strengthening of staff by specialists from other companies. Processes also become more complicated and do not acquire immediately an optimal look. Sometimes it becomes inconvenient to work – and it takes some time until everything is “settled” and optimized. Change is a source of stress for many employees.
High pace of work and heavy workload. Business growth is provided by employees – and not always due to the hiring of additional hands. Often you have to work hard – in a scarce market, it is quite difficult to expand a team in a couple of days. For some, the high pace of work, on the contrary, is familiar, but it is difficult for someone to maintain them.
Limits of career ladders. Despite the opportunity to break out quickly into line managers, in the future the same rapid growth should not be expected. The vertical structure is limited, there are simply no higher-level positions for all worthy employers – unlike large companies, where there are several more floors. The company’s top management is actively involved in operational activities, which also limits career prospects.
Inevitable mistakes. Fast-growing companies experiment a lot, and some hypotheses may turn out to be erroneous: a team is recruited for them, which subsequently has to be reduced. The fact is that new directions should show an instant result – there is no time for “buildup”. If it does not keep up with the growth of the company, then it is closed or transformed. So it was with us: the product team was expanded for a new project that did not take off – and we had to part with some employees. Their competencies were unclaimed in other areas of product development.

Five key rules

To work successfully in a fast-growing company, it is worth adhering to several rules.

First, informed means armed. It is important to understand the pros and cons of work and be prepared for them. When expectations are adequate, then disappointment is not so painful.

Secondly, it is important to tune in to professional development rather than upward growth. A horizontal career also has its advantages. Pumping your professional skills and stress resistance in the same way as in a fast-growing company is unlikely to succeed anywhere else.

Third, communication skills must be developed. This means being able to convey your needs to the management, not hush up problems, find a common language with different colleagues. The ability to communicate is a significant factor in a successful career, and not only in a fast-growing company.

Fourth, it is worth pumping the skills of adaptation to change. To do this, you need to include awareness: understand the need for change and its meaning, reflect on your place in a changing environment, think over various scenarios and always have a plan B. By the way, adaptability to change should be included in corporate training programs on the part of the employer as well.

Fifth, fast-growing companies especially appreciate the initiative – it is important to be proactive, involved, and root for the result. This approach, unlike the formal one, will allow you to get the most out of your work experience.

Summary

Fast-growing companies as employers are, on the one hand, a challenge, on the other, rare opportunities. And undoubtedly – a very interesting experience that helps to raise your professionalism to a new level.

Moreover, companies are growing and “maturing”. Over time, the speed of change decreases, the management approaches organizational issues more accurately, builds systematic work on comfortable transformation. Companies implement change support practices and methodologies, they track and analyze key indicators of these processes. It becomes much more comfortable to work. This is a reward for those who have gone through the most difficult and unstable times of rapid growth with the company.