The consulting company that grows without growth goals

Goal setting constitutes an important part of building a successful company. It creates clarity and on an individual level, it helps employees to reach their full potential. However, the goals a company has can differ.

We have met with the consulting company Extrapreneur, which does not plan its goal setting based on growth goals. Instead, they focus on ensuring that employees have interesting assignments and receive the right support to develop.

– We conduct personality analyses on all employees after they have started working with us. The better self-awareness the employee has, and the better we are at understanding our employees, the greater the chance that they will end up in the right assignment, says Peter Thörn, CEO and founder of the company, with nearly 50 employees.

The competition is intensifying in the consulting market. Quickly matching the right consultant with the right assignment is crucial to success today. This is something that Extrapreneur has taken into account.

The company was initially established as a business-driven incubator eleven years ago, which is why it was named Extrapreneur.

– The term comes from the fact that there are usually two types of entrepreneurs – extrapreneur and intrapreneur. Our interpretation of the word is that an extrapreneur, unlike an intrapreneur, is a driven person with a lot of experience who helps businesses grow, but does it outside of the secure environment. An extrapreneur likes to explore uncharted territory, says Peter.

Satisfied employees and low staff turnover

In 2014, the company changed its business focus and became a traditional IT consulting company, albeit with a somewhat more modern approach when it comes to goal setting.

– Our goals are proud employees and impressed customers. We measure how our consultants are doing and if they are enjoying their assignments. We measure if we are doing a good job for our customers. If you take care of your staff and do a good job, you get to keep your employees. And if you do a good job for your customers, more will come, says Peter.

Satisfied employees feel a strong commitment to their company. Those who enjoy their job tend to stay longer. And with a staff turnover rate that has been below five percent for most years, the company has clearly succeeded.

At the same time, the company always keeps the door open for the right person, although Peter admits that they have to turn down significantly more applicants than they accept.

– We have to feel that we are the right employer for that person and ensure that it is not a bad match.

Match personality to assignments

The goal is always to match the right consultant to the right assignment. They don’t just look at the CV, but also consider the employee’s personality. To get to know their employees on a deeper level, the company conducts personality assessments on all employees after they have started working with them. This forms a basis for future development and is not a part of the selection process for recruitment or only for the leaders, as it can be in other companies.

– Through the personality assessment, we get answers about who the person is. What ambitions, dreams and strengths does the employee have? What gives and takes energy? Half the job is matching the personality and goals to the assignment, while the other part is the skills that is stated in the CV. Then it’s about understanding the consultant, both in terms of skills and as a person, says Peter.

From Word to Cinode

Extrapreneur has been using Cinode in their daily work for the past two years. Initially, they used the CV function, but now they actively utilize the assignment section, occupancy overview, and recruitment.

– It’s an exciting development you’ve made over the past few years, with the connection between assignments, skills, and skills development. Therefore, we have been able to leave our old Word documents for skills development and use Cinode instead, says Peter.

How does Cinode contribute to your business?

– It creates security and clarity. It is really easy to maintain and gives us a clearer picture of what we need to act on as a company. In addition, Cinode and our financial system are the only two systems that consultants need to work with. It is efficient!

Make visible what the consultant wants

In Cinode’s Dream Assignment feature, the consultant describes in their own words their perfect assignment. The text is presented on the employee page, but mainly in the matching view, taking into account both skills matching and aspects such as availability and what the consultant wants.

Peter explains that Extrapreneur also uses the feature as a basis for their skills development work.

– We combine skills development with the actual dream assignment. We make visible what the consultant wants and dreams of doing. Either the employee is ready for it immediately or it is a future goal, but the important thing is the goal itself. Then we use the Growth Plan to make it easier for the consultant to get the dream assignment.

With Cinode Growth Plan, the employee shows their ambitions, formulates visions, and follows up on their goals.

“Start using Cinode early”

Starting to use Cinode was smooth, and Peter sees a great advantage in starting to use the tool early.

– It’s better to start using it early, just before it’s needed. Then it’s easier to get started. We started using the CV section first and early on also began adding assignments. So when we finally had great use of Cinode, all the data was already in place, he says.

Good tip! Finally, what are your goals for 2023?

– Our current goal is to establish an organization that can handle our growth with 50 employees. Instead of a management team, we have a support team consisting of three people who support the consultants. Additionally, we also have a full-time team leader for each competence team. This way, we have the capacity to maintain close contact with many customers while also supporting our employees. This allows us to meet a positive future.