What does it really take to recruit and retain top-flight business talent? And what does that talent need to see in order to sign on?
The difference between success and failure -- for a company or a career -- can depend how you answer those questions. Fortunately, the correct answers are very simple, Unfortunately, that simplicity is often unrecognized or ignored, leads to enormous wastes of time, money, and emotion.
In my opinion, the definitive study of employee satisfaction is a book entitled The Enthusiastic Employee, by David Sirota, PhD. After a truly vast amount of research, Sirota identified three workplace attributes that companies must provide for employees -- and that employees must see in order to sign on with a company.
What are these elements? Sirota says nothing about a basketball court on the corporate "campus" or gourmet food in the cafeteria. Instead, here are the factors he cites:
-- Fairness: People need to know that they're working
on a level playing field. Favoritism, nepotism, sexism,
ageism, and a dozen other "isms" have got to be taken
out of the equation.
-- Meaning: No one wants to feel that their work has no substantial
purpose or effect. There has to be a sense that something
significant is at stake in the work, and that a real benefit will be
achieved through work done well.
on a level playing field. Favoritism, nepotism, sexism,
ageism, and a dozen other "isms" have got to be taken
out of the equation.
-- Meaning: No one wants to feel that their work has no substantial
purpose or effect. There has to be a sense that something
significant is at stake in the work, and that a real benefit will be
achieved through work done well.
-- Community: Building "team spirit" may sound corny, but employees want and need to feel good about their colleagues,
subordinates, and supervisors. This may not mean buddy-buddy
friendship, but it definitely means shared trust and respect.
subordinates, and supervisors. This may not mean buddy-buddy
friendship, but it definitely means shared trust and respect.
So there you have it! Just three elements. Simple to declare, but not always simple to create -- and often not easy to find. But these are the "must haves" for bringing talent into a corporate team, and for keeping that team together.
Here are some links for further information on Dr. David Sirota's The Enthusiastic Employee:
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