For most businesses today, one of the only sustainable competitive advantages available is the quality of the people they can get, grow and keep on their teams. Even if you make a product, it is the interactions your people have with each other inside of the company and with your customers that can make or break your success.
For several years, I have served as a leadership instructor and executive coach for some of the top companies in the world as well as some of the top employees in those companies. These folks are what I call “voluntary employees”; they are so good at what they do that if they decided they didn’t like where they worked, they could quit and have a job at the competition within hours. A few years ago, I sent a survey out to several thousand of these high-potential employees and asked them, “Why do you work where you work?” I figured if these people could work anywhere they wanted to, why, specifically, did they choose the company they were at? Their responses outlined six clear answers:
- Fair Pay. This was defined as 10 percent above or below what they would make to do the same job at any other company. As long as they got parity on pay, it came off the table as a major motivator.
- Challenging Work. These are extremely bright people who want to go to work every day and feel that they are being stretched and challenged to deliver outstanding work that is also interesting and engaging to them.
- Cool Colleagues. A-players only want to play with other A-players. One of the major things that attracts top talent is the opportunity to work with other impressive colleagues. On the other side of the coin, one of the things that chases away top talent is being frustrated because they are surrounded by mediocre people.
- Winning Culture. Great employees want to work in a company with a great culture. There are basically nine factors in creating and sustaining a high engagement culture:
a. It is a fun place to work.
b. It has a real family atmosphere.
c. I considered the people at work my friends, some of them my best friends.
d. I am treated fairly by the organization.
e. I have the freedom to do my job without being micromanaged.
f. I take pride in the organization I work for.
g. I am provided some sort of genuine, honest and sincere praise once every seven to 10 days.
h. My work is meaningful.
i. I feel like I accomplish things at work and I’m not just on a treadmill.
- Personal and Professional Growth.
Highly talented employees need to feel that they are personally growing every month at their jobs. They need to be able to look back and see that they have learned new skills, increased their abilities, and are constantly learning and improving. Also, they need to know that there is a place for them in the company five to seven years down the road. If they feel like they are not growing and learning or that there is no real career path for them within the organization, they will leave as soon as they can.
- Leader I Respect and Admire. Interestingly, many of the folks I talked to said this was the most important criteria. A company may not do exceedingly well on the other five, but if talented people feel like they work for someone they truly respect and admire, it gives them a great sense of satisfaction in delivering superior work for that person. On the other hand, 88 percent of people who quit a job do not quit the job, the pay, the hours, or the workload — they quit their immediate supervisors because they do not respect or admire them. A recent study I read said that 55 percent of lost revenues in a company is due to poor leadership.
If you understand that the future of your company depends on the quality of the people on your team, I suggest that you make talent acquisition, talent development and talent retention a strategic objective in your business. Remember: The No. 1 factor in engaged, satisfied, and loyal Customers is engaged, satisfied and loyal Employees.
JOHN SPENCE has been recognized as one of the top 100 business thought leaders and as one of the top 500 leadership development experts in the world. He is an international keynote speaker and management consultant and has written five books on business and life success. www.johnspence.com