Focus on the Fundamentals to become a Talent Magnet
The answer to becoming a Talent Magnet isn’t in
gimmicks, the perfect enticement, or a contrived
"we’re a fun workplace" image. The answer to becoming
a Talent Magnet is in the fundamentals. The answer is
in creating an organization that satisfies fundamental
human needs and the emerging needs of today’s workers.
When organizations do this, they create a workplace
that is intrinsically motivating and fun, a workplace
that makes them a magnet for the most talented
employees.
To become such an organization – a Talent Magnet -
here are some ways you can satisfy these fundamental
needs of today’s worker:
Engage Your Employees’ Hearts and Souls - People don’t
just want to bring their brains to work, they want to
bring their hearts. They want to feel passionate about
what they are doing and be part of something great.
Leaders of Talent Magnets speak to this human need by
regularly communicating to all employees where the
company is going, the importance of what they are
doing, and the significance of each employee’s
contribution. They share stories of victories and warn
about imminent battles with competitors.
The more you let your employees know they are part of
something great, and how they make it possible to be
great, the more passionate they will be about your
company. The more passionate they are, the more they
will tell others about how great your company is -
making every employee a recruiter.
Keep People in the Know – It’s hard to be excited
about something you know nothing about. When employees
understand the big picture, and are kept in the loop
about new developments, they feel part of the
organization, and therefore, more involved, more
excited, and more loyal.
CEO Dan Taylor keeps their 180 employees in the loop
by holding a President’s Breakfast each week. At these
breakfasts, he meets with 10 different employees to
discuss new developments and listens to their ideas
and concerns.
Respect Employee’s Right to Have a Life – Research
shows flexibility and work/life balance are top
priorities of today’s workers, especially GenXers. At
HCI Systems of Kennebunk, Maine, employees trying to
juggle parenting and work responsibilities are
strongly supported in their efforts to balance the
two.
With several employees at HCI Systems being single
mothers of young children, this kind of flexibility
and respect has a huge impact on morale and
dedication. "Because of the flexibility and respect
employees are shown, we’ll have people willingly come
in on a weekend if need be. It pays to be flexible,"
notes Kathie Davies, HCI Systems’ HR Manager.
Provide Opportunities to Grow – A study by the
American Electronics Association, the nation’s largest
high-tech trade group, revealed that the number one
factor influencing employee retention was having
challenging work assignments. If going to work means
grinding out the same task over and over, employees
will soon go elsewhere. Thus, keeping employees
energized and excited about coming to work requires
making sure they are constantly being challenged. As
the head of HR for Sun Microsystems, Ken Alvares says
"our goal is to keep people so busy having fun every
day that they don’t even listen when the headhunters
call." Apparently this strategy is working, as Sun’s
turnover rate is less than half of the industry’s
average.
Show Appreciation – Many companies drop the ball on
this one. Decades of employee research shows that
appreciation is one of the greatest motivators. Yet,
when companies remember to show appreciation, it is
usually with a gimmicky Employee of the Month or
Employee Recognition Day programs.
Far more effective are simple, informal expressions of
appreciation such as saying "Thank you" to employees
as they are leaving for the day, as does HCI Systems’
president Jim Kavanagh.
Because managers and front line people tend to treat
each other the way they are treated, employees at HCI
Systems show the same kind of gratitude and
appreciation to each other. "For instance, I’ll have
people in product development come up and thank me for
something I’ve done," notes HR Manager Kathie Davies.
"That almost never happens to the HR person in most
companies."
The kind of goodwill created by such gestures
translates into tremendous synergy and the kind of
workplace people are excited about going to.
Showing sincere appreciation is a no-cost, high return
practice. Not showing appreciation is a high-risk
behavior for companies hoping to keep talented people.
When the staff of a Maine high tech company recently
received bonus checks, several said "I would rather
have gotten a handshake and a ‘thank you’ from the
president than the cash." Not surprisingly, morale at
this company is low and turnover high.
Don’t Hamstring Your Employees – Putting obstacles in
the way of employees doing their work well is a great
way to send them to the competition. Whether it is
inadequate technology, bureaucratic hurdles to leap,
or a "Sorry, there’s nothing we can do about it"
attitude, making life difficult for employees is a
costly endeavor. Not only does it make them less
efficient, it conveys disrespect.
Give People the Chance to Do Something Great – The
best, most talented employees want the opportunity to
do something great. Says BroadcastAMERICA’ s CEO Alex
Lauchlin, "You don’t want to give them a job, you want
to give them a challenge."
"We don’t say ‘Go out and get 20 new stations next
week.’ We say ‘We want you to build BroadcastSports or
BroadcastTalk’ (two of BroadcastAMERICA brands),"
explains Lauchlin. Such a philosophy has helped
BroadcastAMERICA become the largest online
broadcasting network.
Show Employees That You Care – Although talented
people want their talent and expertise to be
recognized and valued, they also want to know you care
about them as a person - not just a producer of high
quality work. Leaders like ManagedOps’ Dan Taylor or
BroadcastAMERICA’ s co-founders John Brier and Alex
Lauchlin address this need by taking the time to get
to know employees not just as programmer or designer,
but as people who have families, hopes, and dreams.
Says Laurie Murphy, HR Manager "One of the most
frequent comments on our employee satisfaction surveys
is how much it means to employees that Dan knows who
they are, who their spouses are, and the names of
their children."
To Become a Talent Magnet, Remember The Fundamentals –
Being a Talent Magnet doesn’t require being clever or
cute. It requires a sincere appreciation of, and
interest in, the people who work for you. It requires
a willingness to meet their fundamental human needs,
and their needs as workers in a complex world of
competing responsibilities. By doing this, you will
create the kind of workplace that talented people love
– and love to tell their talented friends about.
Written by David Lee
The answer to becoming a Talent Magnet isn’t in
gimmicks, the perfect enticement, or a contrived
"we’re a fun workplace" image. The answer to becoming
a Talent Magnet is in the fundamentals. The answer is
in creating an organization that satisfies fundamental
human needs and the emerging needs of today’s workers.
When organizations do this, they create a workplace
that is intrinsically motivating and fun, a workplace
that makes them a magnet for the most talented
employees.
To become such an organization – a Talent Magnet -
here are some ways you can satisfy these fundamental
needs of today’s worker:
Engage Your Employees’ Hearts and Souls - People don’t
just want to bring their brains to work, they want to
bring their hearts. They want to feel passionate about
what they are doing and be part of something great.
Leaders of Talent Magnets speak to this human need by
regularly communicating to all employees where the
company is going, the importance of what they are
doing, and the significance of each employee’s
contribution. They share stories of victories and warn
about imminent battles with competitors.
The more you let your employees know they are part of
something great, and how they make it possible to be
great, the more passionate they will be about your
company. The more passionate they are, the more they
will tell others about how great your company is -
making every employee a recruiter.
Keep People in the Know – It’s hard to be excited
about something you know nothing about. When employees
understand the big picture, and are kept in the loop
about new developments, they feel part of the
organization, and therefore, more involved, more
excited, and more loyal.
CEO Dan Taylor keeps their 180 employees in the loop
by holding a President’s Breakfast each week. At these
breakfasts, he meets with 10 different employees to
discuss new developments and listens to their ideas
and concerns.
Respect Employee’s Right to Have a Life – Research
shows flexibility and work/life balance are top
priorities of today’s workers, especially GenXers. At
HCI Systems of Kennebunk, Maine, employees trying to
juggle parenting and work responsibilities are
strongly supported in their efforts to balance the
two.
With several employees at HCI Systems being single
mothers of young children, this kind of flexibility
and respect has a huge impact on morale and
dedication. "Because of the flexibility and respect
employees are shown, we’ll have people willingly come
in on a weekend if need be. It pays to be flexible,"
notes Kathie Davies, HCI Systems’ HR Manager.
Provide Opportunities to Grow – A study by the
American Electronics Association, the nation’s largest
high-tech trade group, revealed that the number one
factor influencing employee retention was having
challenging work assignments. If going to work means
grinding out the same task over and over, employees
will soon go elsewhere. Thus, keeping employees
energized and excited about coming to work requires
making sure they are constantly being challenged. As
the head of HR for Sun Microsystems, Ken Alvares says
"our goal is to keep people so busy having fun every
day that they don’t even listen when the headhunters
call." Apparently this strategy is working, as Sun’s
turnover rate is less than half of the industry’s
average.
Show Appreciation – Many companies drop the ball on
this one. Decades of employee research shows that
appreciation is one of the greatest motivators. Yet,
when companies remember to show appreciation, it is
usually with a gimmicky Employee of the Month or
Employee Recognition Day programs.
Far more effective are simple, informal expressions of
appreciation such as saying "Thank you" to employees
as they are leaving for the day, as does HCI Systems’
president Jim Kavanagh.
Because managers and front line people tend to treat
each other the way they are treated, employees at HCI
Systems show the same kind of gratitude and
appreciation to each other. "For instance, I’ll have
people in product development come up and thank me for
something I’ve done," notes HR Manager Kathie Davies.
"That almost never happens to the HR person in most
companies."
The kind of goodwill created by such gestures
translates into tremendous synergy and the kind of
workplace people are excited about going to.
Showing sincere appreciation is a no-cost, high return
practice. Not showing appreciation is a high-risk
behavior for companies hoping to keep talented people.
When the staff of a Maine high tech company recently
received bonus checks, several said "I would rather
have gotten a handshake and a ‘thank you’ from the
president than the cash." Not surprisingly, morale at
this company is low and turnover high.
Don’t Hamstring Your Employees – Putting obstacles in
the way of employees doing their work well is a great
way to send them to the competition. Whether it is
inadequate technology, bureaucratic hurdles to leap,
or a "Sorry, there’s nothing we can do about it"
attitude, making life difficult for employees is a
costly endeavor. Not only does it make them less
efficient, it conveys disrespect.
Give People the Chance to Do Something Great – The
best, most talented employees want the opportunity to
do something great. Says BroadcastAMERICA’ s CEO Alex
Lauchlin, "You don’t want to give them a job, you want
to give them a challenge."
"We don’t say ‘Go out and get 20 new stations next
week.’ We say ‘We want you to build BroadcastSports or
BroadcastTalk’ (two of BroadcastAMERICA brands),"
explains Lauchlin. Such a philosophy has helped
BroadcastAMERICA become the largest online
broadcasting network.
Show Employees That You Care – Although talented
people want their talent and expertise to be
recognized and valued, they also want to know you care
about them as a person - not just a producer of high
quality work. Leaders like ManagedOps’ Dan Taylor or
BroadcastAMERICA’ s co-founders John Brier and Alex
Lauchlin address this need by taking the time to get
to know employees not just as programmer or designer,
but as people who have families, hopes, and dreams.
Says Laurie Murphy, HR Manager "One of the most
frequent comments on our employee satisfaction surveys
is how much it means to employees that Dan knows who
they are, who their spouses are, and the names of
their children."
To Become a Talent Magnet, Remember The Fundamentals –
Being a Talent Magnet doesn’t require being clever or
cute. It requires a sincere appreciation of, and
interest in, the people who work for you. It requires
a willingness to meet their fundamental human needs,
and their needs as workers in a complex world of
competing responsibilities. By doing this, you will
create the kind of workplace that talented people love
– and love to tell their talented friends about.
Written by David Lee