The Visionary Chronicles: How to Attract & Retain Top Talent
In this new Podcast, Bryan Smelter discusses the strategies around how you reflect your culture, position your brand, and how this naturally attracts proactive Talent.
Bryan Smeltzer's Podcast on driving your brand, product, and marketing through an innovation driven mindset and disruptive strategies.
INSIGHTS
Finding Talented employees should not be a process where you find them; they should FIND YOU! As a brand or company, if you effectively convey your Vision through visual and verbal communications, you should have the right Talent approaching you continually.
The magic of having a great Vision, one that inspires others, is communicated effectively and continuously is you will always be found by those who have a passion around your culture, products and brand. Individuals gravitate to that which they have a passion for and want to contribute to its future success.
There are great brands who have successfully built this type of gravitational talent pull; Apple, Nike, Adidas, etc. However, most do not translate their Vision effectively and, as a result, attract the wrong Talent, those who do not mesh with their culture. Talent is great, but this should be secondary to fit in with the brand culture and mesh with the team. If not, they are bound to fail and move on.
I have found there are several critical areas to address when developing your team and attracting Talent;
• First, the ability to mesh with your brand culture, otherwise they are doomed for failure.• Second, the ability to do the role, yes, this is SECOND.
• Third, a genuine, authentic passion for the brand, product, and culture created.
The ultimate hire is someone who proactively reaches out to you, has the Talent to fill the role, meshes with your culture, and has a passion for the brand.
Once you hire someone, assure you have an Onboarding process. Yes, an Onboarding process, NOT a checklist of Benefits and showing them where they sit. It is a proper technique to engraining them into their areas of responsibility, culture, brand, and teams—an ongoing process, not a one-day thing.
Once Onboard, there are also several Assumptions, and Mistakes brands will make with both new hires and those currently with the company:
Jack of all Trades, Master of Some
• Make sure they have support and ensure they understand their specific areas of responsibility. They will want to take on more, but help them with small wins!
Assuming they are Engaged
• Over 50% of employees are not engaged; make sure you have a plan, a process around keeping teams and individuals engaged. It does not have to be work; it can be social as well. Just keep them engaged, contributing, and feeling part of the team.
Rewarding those who Support Team accomplishments
• You are only as good as your team; reward those who support the company's success, regardless of size. Just the acknowledgment is enough in many instances. Both monetary and personal recognition is important. Never underestimate the power of a simple pat on the back or a "Thank You."
Be Revolutionary!
Be Different!
Be Great!