Enjoy this 4th post of our 5 part series on “The Keys to Finding & Keeping Great People”
Here’s your 2nd solution. Stay tuned for 1 more, next week. It will shift your thinking!
You are feeling the squeeze. You are more than familiar with the implications of not finding and keeping great people. Last week, the post focused on the first solution to this problem. You are the CEO – the Chief Engagement Officer.
The 2nd solution is this…As CEO, YOUR MAIN ROLE is to create a great place to work.
Just before we dive in, I want to remind you that these posts are a preview of what we have to share on this topic. If you find this interesting, you won't want to miss out on our Lunch & Learn in Burlington where we will dive deeper and continue this discussion!
Here are 5 essentials you need in order to create a Great Place to Work; one that will attract and keep great people.
- You are the CEO – own it! You are the Chief Engagement Officer. No-one else can do this work for you. As the owner, you have been entrusted with the work and wellbeing of people who are made in the image of the One who made you. Gen 1:26-27
- Be transformed. You are called to grow as a devoted follower of Christ. Romans 12:1-2 MSG.
- Model the way. Your team is watching you! Set the example as you continue to grow.
- Be resilient. Creating a great place to work IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART, it will require your very best. The evil one will be out to “steal, kill and destroy”. This is not to be feared, but to be understood. Know that Jesus has come to bring life and life to the full.
- Watch for God @ work. As the CEO, watch for where you are seeing God at work in and through your team. Catch the good work that they are doing.
- Listen, learn, adjust. Proactively get feedback on your culture.
- Bake-in Your Purpose & Values: This is not about nice words or pretty pictures hanging on your office walls. This is about the Kingdom of God coming alive in the everyday language of purpose and values.
- Set the plumb line. Be very clear on what is and is not acceptable attitude and behavior.
- What Matters Most! Everyone is an “ambassador”. Everyone on the team is there because they have committed to doing the good work of living out the purpose and values.
- Build Trust: If you foster a high-trust culture, you will attract a high-trust team. As Stephen Covey has taught…” Trust = Speed”!
- Create a “safe” environment.
- Choose to be real…appropriately, be vulnerable.
- DWYSYWD – Do what you said you would do.
- Grow & Engage People: Research reveals that great teams want two things from their leaders; taking personal interest in them and creating space for them to learn/grow.
- Celebrate Wins: To celebrate is to be human. The capacity to enjoy and appreciate work well done is a significant way to move from feeling the drudgery of toil to the joy of work.
- Empower your team: Create a clear line of sight on what is expected. Provide the support needed for them to be successful.
- Space to grow. Be deliberate in the development of your team. Increase their capacity to add ongoing value for the business.
- Structure culture: Culture always wins – always! Like any building that stands the test of time, structure is required. A flourishing culture is no different.
- Keep helpful traditions: Remember history. Traditions that helped build a great place to work are crucial markers that will help new team members embrace the past and help build the future.
- Team 1st. NOTHING is more important than your team – not even your customers. Ensure that your team is engaged and they will help ensure that your customers have a great experience.
- Under-performers: If you want to demotivate your team, allow under-performers to remain unaddressed. Instead, be diligent in requiring under-performers to step up or find another place to work.
- Embrace millennials. Any other mindset will not be helpful. By 2025, millennials will be 75% of the workforce.
- Choose transparency. Appropriately…be open, real and honest with expectations and goals. You will invite the team to do the same.
- We Are Winning!
- Know the score. You like to win. Identify metrics that will help the team experience winning.
- Always improve. Engage the team in helping systems and processes improve. They are the ones closest to the action.
- Bonus the team. Get rid of the Christmas bonus!! Bonus your team based on their contribution to a specific improvement and you will motivate them to help improve other areas of the business.
- Healthy profit. Ensure your business has the profit needed to be able to care for your team well. Wages, benefits, development opportunities and more…. all require healthy, sustainable profit.
As a small business leader, you have been entrusted with the work and well-being of people – real people!! Build a great place to work!
Stay tuned for solution 3 in next week’s post – Recruit Like a Marketer!!
JOIN US AT OUR LUNCH & LEARN
A Deliberate Application:
- Download & Review the infographic we have created to see the bigger picture.
- What are your reflections on the 5 Essentials for A Great Place to Work?
- Where is your culture strong? Where does it need help?
- What steps can you take to be the CEO of a Great Place to Work?
- What are you sensing God ask of you?
- Who can you share this with?
