Promonoise... Attracting Talent
Over the span of a twenty-year career as a supplier, having conducted tens of thousands of distributor meetings and presentations, the single most repeated question had to have been, “Alex, do you know of anyone that’s looking for a job?” In fact, I heard that question posed so many times that I would begin to predict it. And at the time, my awareness was such that I’d comb through my mental database of disgruntled distributor sales reps and wonder if there was a fit. I was going about it the wrong way. And so were the distributors.
What’s the goal?
This is an important question to ask yourself when thinking of hiring someone. And what you’ll discover, for the most part, is that people are hired because ownership and/or management wants to increase revenue. However, most HR personnel will tell you that hiring is often conducted in order to fill a vacancy, whether because of a departure or a newly created role. Can you see the disconnect? On one hand, the goal is to expand the company through revenue growth and on the other hand, it’s a labor need. Both are correct in their desire; however, the lack of a united vision dooms the mission from the start.
In the past, sometimes I played the role of savior by making an introduction in order to bring two parties together. But from a new vantage point, I wouldn’t do that anymore. That is to say, unless I felt that both parties were aligned beautifully with their intentions.
Here’s why:
It’s extremely challenging to grow and to retain staff when a company is wounded.
Before I expand on that very important sentence, I’m going to draw a parallel. It’s very difficult to grow and expand as a solitary human being if we’re carrying emotional trauma. Do you know what I mean? Using a purely physical metaphor, it would be like trying to get fit by going to the gym every day in spite of the fact that you eat junk food every day. Yes, the gym will certainly help, but you’ll be forever undermining significant progress if you continue to gorge on junk food throughout the gym process. It’s the same thing for a company when it comes to retaining staff. You can have a tremendous HR team that brings-in new employees on the regular, but unless you take a more holistic approach to all aspects of your business, you’re doomed to continue losing employees, or even worse, retaining unmotivated ones.
So the next question is, “Where do I start when it comes to a holistic approach?” Just like our junk food eating gym goer, the process begins with education and awareness. One solution could be the recalibration of the company’s mission statement. Another one might be the alignment of the management team through a retreat. Or, sometimes it takes a new voice, like a coach or a consultant to allow you to see what’s invisible to you.
The point is this:
Unless you’re willing to deconstruct what’s not working, you’ll face the same staffing challenges year after year - even if you’re growing...
And that takes a lot of energy!
Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to spend so much energy on recruiting and retaining employees? In fact, both of those functions come naturally when your company eliminates the bad habits that lead to people leaving and people feeling unfulfilled. You’ll find that as you work on the company itself, through its people; that the staff will feel more empowered, more motivated, and ultimately perform optimally. And, you’ll find that recruitment is something else that your staff does for and with you. I can tell you that when I was a happy employee in my former corporate life, I was only too happy to recruit and hire people that were like minded. In fact, many of those people that I recruited are still with the company today and are the ones responsible for proliferating the beautiful spirit that it takes to retain and motivate staff members.
I’m only scratching the surface of the very potent reality of attracting employees through the cleansing of our own companies. But if you take the time to really evaluate what I’m saying, it might be a pretty significant moment in your company’s storied history.
Thanks for reading. Let’s make some beautiful noise together!
Alex
Feel free to contact Alex directly with any questions or support.
Website: www.promonoise.com
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