The development and growth of a company can be very exciting. But putting together – and keeping, an effective team that will allow you to achieve your strategy requires careful thinking, planning and execution.

As businesses evolve there are five areas of HR that employers need to get right to build a high performing team and become a well-regarded employer.

Stage 1: Administration

Stage 2: Compliance

Simply staying in the tax man’s good book and paying your people on time is a good start, but there are a huge number of HR compliance risks that all companies face.

Stage 3: Structure

Every company made up of more than one person will need some form of organisational structure.

To this point in the model, if you’re paying you people correctly, keeping on the right side of the law and are structured in a way that allows for efficient communication and decision making, you’re covering all of the basics.

Now it’s time to step things up.

Stage 4: Performance

Companies that evolve to this stage are taking a strategic approach to HR.

Companies who work hard to meet the needs of their employees and get this stage right can cultivate a work environment conducive to high levels of productivity and engagement. Ultimately this leads to high performance.

Stage 5: Brand

Companies that have evolved to this stage of the model have typically got administration, compliance, structure and performance systems in place. They’re generally great places to work.

So there you have it. Where does your company sit? Where do you want to be?