It’s no stretch to say that gaining momentum and market share is a clear sign of business growth. In today’s competitive business environment, however, it’s what you do with those early signs of growth that can determine where your business will be in the future and if that success will continue. In order to drive that business initiative you will need the right team to support your venture. While human resources alone does not drive business growth, it is an influential component for supporting and sustaining that growth.

Despite it’s worth, human resources is still commonly underutilized, especially in a startup or small-business setting. The first step to a successful HR department is to determine how it will support growth by aligning its functions with the business’s greater growth strategy. This way HR can plan for any potential challenges or changes within the business and ultimately fulfill the role for which it was intended. This includes: strengthening the company culture, hiring for professionals that share the same company values and supporting the strategic direction of the business.

“Helping to set and implement the strategic direction of the organization requires developing and assessing the organization’s human capital and creating the organizational capabilities required to support the strategic direction,” writes Edward E. Lawler, III, a contributor to Forbes. “It also requires shaping strategy by providing the unique perspective available via the lens of someone who has knowledge of the talent market and human behavior. This requires HR executives to understand business strategy and how it relates to organizational capabilities and core competencies and how those connect to pivotal talent and organization design decisions.”

Three ways human resources can support business growth strategy

Put an emphasis on further career development and training

If your business is growing, then your employees should be too. “It’s hard to think of an important aspect of management more neglected than development planning: helping your employees shape the future direction of their careers,” writes Victor Lipman, another Forbes contributor. “Yet for a variety of reasons, this valuable activity is often ignored… or handled as a bureaucratic exercise… or an afterthought. Companies pay a high price: the loss of top young talent.”

By putting an emphasis on career development and training, employees will have an opportunity to increase their skills and experience, which in turn will prepare them to take on more responsibilities and alleviate the stress on management. Finally, it proves to your employees that you’re willing to invest in their careers, and this can result in increased productivity and improved company morale.

Create a culture of productivity

Much of an employee’s productivity, or lack thereof, is often a direct reflection of a company’s culture. Organizations with a healthy culture often have an office filled with productive employees with positive attitudes toward the company. This in turn contribute to corporate sustainability and continued growth. Finally, if the company culture is strong and doesn’t diminish as the business grows, it can potentially decrease employee turnover and mitigate unnecessary labor costs.

Find out what is needed to deliver on customer satisfaction

Talent management isn’t something that should be taken lightly. In order for HR to support business growth, its staff must be willing to anticipate where the void needs to be filled. First, management must identify where the support is needed the most and in what order to ensure that quality products are delivered and that customer satisfaction is at an all time high. For example, if your sales team is underperforming due to a lack in resources, it may be time to consider hiring for the support they need in order to generate more business sales.