Hiring and Keeping the "Best of the Best"

Back in the day when our parents worked, I was taught the concept of employee loyalty and employees would stay with a company for their whole working life. Long gone are those days and employers need to look at new ways to address employee loyalty and retention. Today's workforce is looking for a place that offers flexibility, work-life balance and provides rewarding experiences and career path options. So how can employers add value to their employees and address retention... Set the bar high and hire the "Best of the Best" The most important step in creating a culture where people will want to stay is to have a selection process that is built to support and provide human capital that is professionally agile and can address the resource requirements of your business development executives. If your selection process is fine tuned and aligned with your company's mission, vision and revenue goals then you are assured quality hires that see value and career path options for skill development with your company. I call these people the Eagles of the industry! Eagles know other Eagles and will serve as your best ambassadors for attracting the right talent to your organization. Happy Eagles will stay with a company, and will help build your employer brand by communicating to their peers that your company is a great place to work. It is imperative that that the applicant is a good "fit" for your enterprise, both short and long term. A good Talent Aquisition professional will be able to evaluate an applicants track record to ensure a skills match, cultural fit via knowledge and attitude. Take a behavioral or situational interview approach to ascertain things like... Is this CSR applicant able to handle your customers? , Do they possess the success factors that you need to excel with your client base?Questions like these will lend tremendous insight to an applicants logic and business acumen and you would be surprised about what is said and, what is not said. Often, applicants who have spent all their education on a subject, such as C++ programming, are looking for a stepping-stone into the company. That may be part of your strategic plan, just be sure that the applicant won't do a lousy job with your customers and then hope you will send him to the R&D department. Think about employee perception and what kind of message you are sending to your workforce? Mess up and get promoted? The applicant's attitude and aptitude is most important. An employee who gives all is more valuable, in the long run, than the "MBA" who is serving their own needs. Look for someone who wants to serve and demonstrates the ability and desire to develop skills and gain knowledge. Sometimes it's easier to teach 'Newbies' your culture instead of having to break bad habits learned at a previous company. Is the applicant going to contribute to or take from the company? Does the applicant have special skills and knowledge that can be shared with fellow employees? Does the applicant value sharing their expertise to help others succeed? Allow applicants to spend hours with your staff and then get his feedback and observations. Ask the staff for their opinion as to the "fit" of the applicant and factor in their feedback. Next, determine if the long-term goals of the employee fit with the needs of the business. Many people start out in support and then migrate to other parts of the company. Will the applicant's aspirations be fulfilled in other parts of the company? Will her career track opportunities be at the right speed for them? Is there a long term fit? Set Expectations To make sure you are off to a great start, set clear expectations up front. Does the applicant have career goals and are they realistic? Make sure the applicant knows what kind of career paths are available, time in positions or department requirements, and what it takes to "move up." Often a position in Development or Marketing requires a 4-year degree, or more. If the applicant does not meet the requirements, there should be a discussion regarding additional training required. The applicant should know what the steps are to move within the company. Some companies have rules about internal transfers to keep certain departments from being the incubator for all other departments. Rapid movement through Support is hard on the customers, peers, managers, and training. Career Guidance To help employees develop and progress, a career development program is helpful. This should be simply time set aside for coaching an employee through his or her career. Remember, only guide, and don't force career paths. The employee's self-motivation should be the driving force. Some employees are not looking for an ever-ascending career and are very happy doing what they are already doing. Employees taking that approach add stability and wealth to the department and should be appreciated. Leaders who provide career guidance need to know what is available within the company and would most likely need help and support from Human Resources. There are many questions about job pre-requisites, salary ranges, job responsibilities, and the like. A Company's Best Investment When employees are being continuously developed they feel valued. Especially in the high tech arena, lack of training rapidly devalues an employee's worth. Training is the very best investment any company can make in its employees. Here's a familiar question: "What if I train them and they leave?" There are two answers: "What if you don't train them? They will leave." Or worse, "What if you don't train them? And they stay?" How about implementing a training policy with a reimbursement vesting schedule that will address your VP of Finance's concern with this. There is a great deal of satisfaction in being the department SME and having the responsibility of sharing expertise. Along these lines, if an employee is weak in a certain area, ask the employee to learn the product or subject and then teach it to others and use this as a management development tactic to assess the potential of an employee to fill a training or management role. To illustrate how much training you are providing, create a public display, company intranet, career portals, showing a matrix of all the products and subjects that require training and who have been trained on each. There's nothing like visualization to show how much training you are providing. Demonstrate that Employees are Valued Employees who are allowed to have meaningful input into the organization feel attached and valued. They can have input regarding departmental work rules, social events, recognition programs and work flow processes. The more they are involved, the more they take ownership and contribute with emotion, passion, commitment, and conviction. It is commonly believed that a leader's primary role is to develop people. Ideally, the more development that occurs, the more each individual will be able to work and contribute independently. Good leaders must support, coach, mentor and train there employees. When the employee is new to a task, he needs direction and support. When he is skilled in a task, leave him/her alone and get out of the way. An effective leader provides direction and support depending on the development level of the employee. One size does not fit all. And, a leader who uses one style, for everyone, is providing a disservice to most of his or her employees. Make Work Fun Since distress can dramatically reduce productivity, creating a fun, relaxed environment will help reduce work related stressors. You probably already have employees who know how to create exciting games and events. Some folks are naturals at creating fun; use their creativity. Allow employees to vent their frustrations in an environment that will allow them to purge yet offer constructive advice on how to handle problems. Employee group sessions work well when everyone knows the ground rules and can offer each other suggestions. Some companies allow employees to share the goofiest or most frustrating situations and give a reward (stress relief ball?) for the best story. Celebrate achievements. There are usually many projects and operational objectives going on at any time. Ensure that there is a positive, rewarding celebration when milestones and goals are reached. It is vital to reinforce desired behaviors in an obvious and substantial way. Rewards can be food (ice cream?), outings, bonuses (for really big events), time off, or ceremony (President presentation). Work Hard, Play Hard When employees play together, they form different bonds than just when working together. They get a chance to see co-workers in a different way and often find that they have more in common than previously realized. Stronger bonds create a natural teamwork that is not achievable in team building exercises. Outside team events can be activities like softball, picnics, bowling, river rafting, Dave & Busters, etc. These events can be quarterly or when goals are achieved. When different groups or departments seem to be having too much conflict, put them together in outside playful activities. Get input from team members on the activities they like. Have them plan within your department's budget allowances. You can create fun awards and take pictures for the bulletin board to reinforce the event. Get them to laugh; it is the best medicine available. Summary Nurture, train, develop, compensate, communicate, care for, and value your employees. Accommodating employees through on going cultural development will empower employees. If you picked the right ones in the first place, they will stay long enough to: contribute, connect with other employees and customers and enhance the value of your organization and company.