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It’s no secret that the challenge of finding high quality employees
in today’s tight labor market is on every manager and business
owner’s mind. What does appear to be a secret - given the typical
response to this challenge - is what to do about it.
Most employee attraction and retention strategies
consist of creating a competitive compensation and benefits package,
or instituting an employee appreciation and recognition program. Even
worse, many companies – especially smaller ones – think
attracting the best employees is a lost cause for them, because they
can’t match the perks and programs showcased in Fortune magazine’s
100 Best Places to Work.
Although most companies don’t “get it” when it comes
to attracting and retaining employees, some do. These companies are
the Talent Magnets – the employers of choice for highly talented
people. They know the key to attracting and retaining quality employees
isn’t compensation and benefits packages or gimmicky programs.
They know the key is how well they address these four critical areas:
Your Company’s Image
Great companies attract great people. If
you have a strong brand in the marketplace,
you will have a strong brand in the labor marketplace. If your company
is synonymous with quality,
you will attract quality people; if it isn’t, you won’t.
The Quality of Your Internal Operations – Your image in the marketplace
influences your ability to attract good people. The quality of your
internal operations influences your ability to retain these people.
Out-dated technology, inadequate resources, inefficient work processes,
and stifling bureaucracy are guaranteed Talent Repellents. Conversely,
when a company is run intelligently and efficiently, people want to
stay and be part of such a world class operation.
How Well Your Management Team Treats Your
Employees
This is where so many companies drop the
ball. They promote technically adept people
to management positions, even if they have virtually no people skills.
They further compound
the problem by scrimping on management training
and coaching, so these managers never develop the skills to bring out
the best in their workers.
Worse, many companies turn a blind eye to
disrespectful or even abusive behavior by managers. The importance of
having a top notch management
team and great supervisors cannot be overstated.
Research conducted by the Gallup Organization, involving over a million
employees and 80,000
managers, revealed that having good managers
was the most influential factor affecting both employee retention and
performance. |
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Ability To Satisfy The Needs Of Your “Internal
Customers,” Your Employees – Just
as the key to marketing and customer
service success is understanding
what the customer wants, and then
delivering it; competing in the labor
market requires understanding what
employees want, and then delivering
that. Here are a few of the things
employees want most: |
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Pride in Where They
Work and What They Do |
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Meaningful Work |
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Respect – Both Personal and
Professional |
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Sincere Expressions of Appreciation |
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The Ability to Exercise Autonomy
and Control in One’s Job |
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The Opportunity to Learn and Grow
on the Job |
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A Sense of Community and Belonging |
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Flexibility That Allows for Work/Life
Balance |
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The Opportunity to Make a Difference;
To Have Input and Influence |
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Taking the First Step Toward
Becoming a Talent Magnet
The first step is to find out where you
currently are. Find out what your “customers” – your
employees – think about your company.
Engage your management team in a very frank
self-examination process about how well
the company is run, and how well employees
are managed. Use the four critical areas
and the nine key human needs outlined in
this article as a launching point for this
important discussion. By successfully addressing
these, you will become a Talent Magnet.
About the Author: David Lee is a consultant,
speaker, and executive coach. The founder
of HumanNature@Work, he has worked with
organizations and presented at conferences
throughout North America and overseas.
He is the author of Managing Employee Stress
and Safety, as well as dozens of articles
on employee and organizational performance. |
