Maximizing the Human Potential

Maximizing Loyalty

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andrew shaffer consulting maximizing loyaltyLast week I attended a discussion on attracting and retaining employees. One interesting fact is with unemployment at historically low numbers it is harder and harder for companies to attract and retain valuable employees. This has undoubtedly caused a paradigm shift in employee’s attitudes and behaviors. As opposed to the recession of almost 10 years ago, where people were happy to have a job, employees now think that the company is lucky to have employees. In order for you to compete for employees, keep them loyal and maximize productivity you have to offer something that others cannot replicate. Today I am going to share with you how you can create a competitive edge by attracting and retaining your ideal employees by maximizing loyalty.

Maximizing Loyalty

I once heard an Air Force Colonel saying he wanted to give his warfighters an unfair advantage in combat. He wasn’t looking for a competitive fight, he wanted to have all the advantages. That makes sense when people’s lives are at stake. How does that relate to how you run your company? Well, lives are at stake. Maybe not life or death, but your employees depend on you to provide for their livelihood.

Attracting and retaining the highest quality employees will certainly help you get a competitive edge, right? Think of all you can get done if everyone was on board and as dedicated as you. If they just “got it”. Competitive benefits and competitive pay are necessary, and are the price to admission. The challenge is they can be copied by your competitors. Today I am going to share how you can create a competitive edge by attracting and retaining your ideal employees.

Why

Simon Sinek has made a name for him self by encouraging people to “Start With Why?”  Why? Because a good “Why” resonates. Think about it, how many foundations have been started by someone after a loved one was impacted by a devastating disease? How many companies were started to solve a common problem?

Your employees have a reason for working for you. When I talk to employees, I hear a wide range of reasons why employee work at a company.

  • It’s a paycheck
  • I believe in the mission
  • the hours a great
  • they treat me well
  • I’m just waiting for retirement.

Why do your employees work for you? Is it because they believe in the company (good) or because they haven’t found another job yet (bad)? Either way getting to understand why your company exists, and why your employees choose to work for you can go a long way in attracting and retaining valuable employees.

Values

As I look back over my career, I think the biggest influence that impacted my decision to change jobs (and eventually get into consulting) was because my values didn’t align with my company. Now, that isn’t to say that the companies I worked for were immoral or had poor values – not at all. They just didn’t align with my values.

Most companies have a list of core values. I bet you can tell me your companies core values, and they are most likely displayed proudly on your website or careers page. The challenge is, do you always live your core values? Your core values are there to guide your decisions, and how you conduct your business. If you have a core value of people first, and you make decisions that seem to put profit or shareholder above your people are you living your core values?

Motivators

I know you don’t have time to be a cheer leader and give your teams pep talks every day to get them motivated to do their job? Actually, it isn’t necessarily your job to motivate them. Well, not directly. You can, however, create an environment or condition that helps motivate your employees. It’s all about getting the right people in the right seats.

Let’s say you have an employee that is naturally creative and thinks big picture. Is this person likely to be motivated by looking at spreadsheets? Probably not. On the other hand, if you an employee that really liked to get into the details of your business accounting, do you think this person would be good a developing marketing material? Again, probably not. Finding motivators of your employees will help you see dramatic improvements on productivity, retention, and profits. (check out this video)

This Week’s Challenge

Give yourself a competitive edge by evaluating your companies why, values and motivating loyalty. These things make your company unique and give you a competitive advantage. If you need help, please contact us to learn how we can help!

Finding and Keeping the Best Employees

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best employees andrew shaffer consultingOne challenge many business leaders are sharing with me is a frustration with finding and keeping high performing employees. Some companies are struggling with retention, others with finding qualified candidates, and still others are dealing with a lack of productivity or innovation. No matter what the issues is, business leaders are always looking ways to help their employees improve. Today I am going to talk about how to help you attract, retain, develop your employees to give you a competitive edge.

Finding and Keeping the Best Employees

Business leaders spend countless hours developing and executing strategies. Much of that strategy is centered around two things, developing new business and executing on existing business.

In a recent client meeting I asked the management team some simple questions about who their customers were. They nailed it! They knew exactly who their customers were, what they wanted and how they provide that. Companies often come up with an “avatar” or ideal client so they can market to them.  But how many people do the same thing for the employees they want to attract? Here are some basic questions you should be asking about your current employees as well as those you hire in the future.

Who are your employees?

Just like companies identify who their target market is for their customers, business leaders should have a target market for their employees. If you look through any job search site, most (not all) employers describe who they are looking for by a set of skills and experience. Skills and experience don’t mean that someone will be effective in your company.

Look at your current employees. List some of the characteristics of your top performers. Those that have been there a while, what do they all have in common? You might even want to do the same exercise with those that haven’t worked out. What went wrong there?

What do they need?

This is something that is often overlooked or minimized. I mean they need a paycheck, right? I’ll tell you with 100% certainty, if that is the only need you are filling, you will have a hard time keeping employees. No matter how big that paycheck is, there is always someone willing to write a bigger check.

Everyone has different needs, and each generation has different needs as well.  Baby boomers needed job security. Millennials need flexible work arrangements. Employees at non-profits and charity organizations feel the need to serve (and usually don’t get paid well). When I work with companies I typically use an assessment to determine the employee needs, and how well those needs are being filled. This is almost always eye-opening for leadership!

How is the need satisfied?

Knowing is half the battle, so understanding the need is only the beginning of the solution. How do you fill that need? Learning opportunities is one of the common motivators, and motivational gaps, I find in my assessment. Employees are interested in professional development and expect the company to support that in some way.

It won’t be uncommon for business leaders to provide a laundry list of things they offer with respect to learning opportunities.  What they often don’t realize is their employees find the process to take advantage might be too cumbersome (needs too much approval), or they don’t feel like they are able to balance learning with their current workload. After you determine what need you serve for your employee, do you have a way to satisfy that need, that the employees are taking advantage of?

When do you satisfy the need?

Flexible work hours are becoming common place in todays workforce. From flexible hours to work from home options.  But not all businesses can accommodate these types of arrangements. And even those businesses that can, it isn’t feasible to do it all the time.  If you are a tax accountant, chances are you will have very little flexibility during “tax season”.

Every business cycle is different, and every need is different. As a leader you must determine the best way to satisfy employee needs without compromising business needs. What is ultra-important here, is to effectively communicate expectations, and when you will be able to satisfy certain needs.

Who provides that need?

Once you learn who your employees are, what their needs are, how and when it will be provided, someone must be responsible for providing it. Who will fill those needs? Often it is a combination of leadership, employees, and maybe HR. So, as a complete picture it is important to decide who is responsible for providing what.

For example: the need is career advancement. HR would be responsible for determining pay and promotion criteria. Leadership would be responsible for giving guidance and assignments to meet those criteria, and the employee is responsible for execute.

This Week’s Challenge

Take action to decide who your employees are and what they need. You will soon find that you will have higher productivity and retention (yes even with millennials)! If you need help, or would like to learn more about our assessments,  please reach out to me. I’ll be happy to help!