Starting your own engineering department can provide your business a wide range of benefits, from being able to complete projects faster, hiring the employees that work specifically for you, taking on more business and much more.

However, creating a new department is no easy task. It’s not as simple as bringing in one new engineer and then being magically able to handle twice the design workload as you could before.

There’s much more to it than that. Your company needs to hire the right talent, you need to implement the right technologies and processes, you need to acquire the right tools and you need to be able to manage your new team both efficiently and effectively.

Thankfully, engineering services, such as those offered by Sparta Engineering, are not just for outsourcing project work. In fact, they can help your company design its products economically and on time – all while allowing your new department to get up to speed.

If you have decided it’s the right time for your company to set up its own engineering department, we have created a list of three tips that will help kick-start your new program:

1 – The first engineer you hire should have broad engineering knowledge

While in most cases, and for most large organizations, it makes sense to hire highly technical and experienced employees that can focus on a specific task – this isn’t the case for small companies hiring their first engineer.

Small organizations need engineers that can do everything. That’s why your company’s first engineer should be an expert in everything, from concept design to the manufacturing processes, in order to get products out the door on schedule.

If the talent you want to hire can’t do it all just yet, then engineering services can often fill in the gaps. For example, Sparta Engineering can provide expertise in projects where your current engineer may lack the necessary skills and knowledge.

We have the expertise to help you design your products economically and on time, while allowing your new department and new engineers to get up to speed.

2 – Early team members will set the tone for your company culture

The first engineer that you hire will pass on your company values and their passion to anyone you hire in the department after them. This means it’s essential that your first hire is enthusiastic about your organization’s vision and comfortable leading your new engineering department as it grows in the future.

Finding the right first employee is essential. The first engineer in your new engineering department will either drive the success, or failure, of your business for years to come.

Engineering services can buy you the time you need by doing the work competently while you search. That way, you don’t rush into decisions you might regret later.

3 – More can go wrong when you have more employees

Once two or more engineers start working together, there is a chance that communication issues and other problems will start to push a project back and allow mistakes to creep there way in.

Work that’s already been done can be repeated, past data on what’s needed to be done can be lost and engineers can begin to start working over each other and stepping on each other’s shoes. These all lead to mistakes, wasted money and lost time for your company.

A data management strategy, however, will allow your business to put into place processes and technologies that protect your company’s intellectual property and make it easier for various team members to reuse work.

Sparta Engineering frequently works with more established companies, which have already faced the many challenges that come with setting up a new engineering department.

As a result, we can help advise your business on exactly what you need to when setting up your new engineering department – so that you can avoid any issues or potentially project-slowing surprises.

Want to find out more? Contact our team of experts today to find out exactly how Sparta Engineering can help you grow a successful engineering department.