What Does it Take to Hire Great Team Members at This Difficult Time?
Welcome to the Ultimate Business Tune-Up Podcast where our one and only goal is to help you TUNE UP your business so that you can have the long-lasting success and fulfillment that comes from owning a solid, profitable and sustainable business.
Each week we’re going dive deep into a single topic related either to improving your business itself, improving your team engagement or improving your relationship with your customers.
This week our topic is one of the most challenging issues facing business owners today – FINDING AND HIRING GREAT TEAM MEMBERS.
I recently sent a short question to several business owner contacts asking them what their #1 challenge was right now. Nearly everyone of them mentioned they were having a difficult time keeping good employees and an even MORE difficult time FINDING a replacement team members when they needed one.
Frankly, I wasn’t surprised. This has become a major issue for businesses of all sizes ever since the lockdowns were ended and businesses re-opened following the pandemic.
In fact, the problem has become so significant that someone gave it a clever name – The Great Resignation. You’ve no doubt heard of it. So many employees, many of who were working remotely during the pandemic, got used to the idea of getting paid without having to actually get up, get dress and drive into work, decided that they liked the idea of WFH (work from home) and they began resigning at record numbers.
The statistics are staggering. During 2021 alone, over 86 million employees quit. Yes, some were involuntary as the vaccine mandates began impacting those who chose not to get “the jab” as it was called. But a large percentage of the quits were simply those who for one reason or another, made the decision that now was a good time to look elsewhere in hopes of a better fit or a better position for themselves.
And as we entered 2022, the trends did not slow down. Each month, over 4 million employees gave their notice and quit. That’s even as the economy was opening back up and things were getting somewhat back to normal.
Meanwhile, job openings were booming, making it even easier for people to quit one job and find another almost at the same time. As inflation pressures began to rise, wages were moved up, so an employee making $20 per hour could easily find a new position paying $25 per hour or more.
I think we all know of situations where a technical person may have been making $60,000 per year and was presented with an opportunity to make $80,000 or even much more just by giving their notice and signing on with a new company – without even having to show up at a new office!
In fact, what has made this past year particularly challenging is that the work from home model is allowing anyone to be considered for any job – no matter where they live – because they can continue to work remotely!
All this makes right now a very challenging time to retain great talent while trying to add new talent to the team – without totally undermining your compensation and benefits programs.
But before we get to some ideas for you to consider, let me share one statistic that I found quite interesting.
I read an interesting article recently that suggested that 1 out of every 3 employees who have recently quit for a new opportunity, are REGRETTING their decision! It seems that while higher pay is certainly an attractive feature of a new job offer, when the employee actually gets on the job, one-third of them are finding out that it’s not all that they hoped it would be.
Turns out, they are giving up something they truly valued and wish they had back – even if it means forgoing the bigger pay package!
This should get your attention – as it did mine! Here’s what I’m thinking and what I’d like you to consider:
I believe if we spend more time focused on the CULTURE of our business, and make sure it is desirable, admired and valued by those on our team, we can overcome even the most excessive pay package offer.
I know that sound too simplistic, but stick with me on this one.
I believe that employees today truly do care about the VALUES and PRINCIPLES of the business owner they work for.
You can see this clearly at large corporations – where pockets of employees are banding together to try to shape and mold the values of their employers. In many cases, they are holding their company hostage – if you don’t support this position, then we’re not showing up to work.
And surprisingly, many large corporations are taking the bait. They are changing their core values to pander to a small fringe minority employee group.
Now you may ask, why should that be of concern to me? I own a small business. I’m not a corporate executive. What does that have to do with my 10, 20 or 50 person team?
Here’s what that has to do with you… I believe… No… I KNOW that there are MANY talented employees who are currently working for these larger corporations who would GLADLY opt to go to work for a smaller company with an owner and leadership team who held the same values and principles that THEY DO!
But here’s the problem. When most business owners post their open positions on Indeed or on LinkedIn, trying to find great team members, their job postings are nearly ALWAYS focused on the skills and experience required for the job. They often include the certifications required or the specific details of the position. And then, they try to compete on the basis of price – in this case – wage or salary offered.
I believe this approach misses the big opportunity that is right in front of us today.
The big opportunity for small businesses today is to make a MUCH BIGGER DEAL about the VALUES, PRINCIPLES and CULTURE that we embrace and encourage among our team members.
I believe that 80% of our job posting and our initial communications with prospective new employees should be about our work environment, about what we believe in, about how we treat our people and about the principles, values and standards that we follow, expect and demand from anyone who works as a member of our team.
Think about it – when was the last time you spend an entire discussion or interview with a potential new team member and the ONLY purpose was to determine if there was a good “fit” between your beliefs and values and theirs?
You may think I’m over-stating the importance of this, but I can assure you, there is NOTHING more important or more impactful in the hiring process today – for both you AND for the prospective applicant.
FIT trumps skills. FIT trumps experience. FIT trumps knowledge.
You know it and I know it. Think about it – when was the last time you fired someone because they didn’t have the skill or knowledge to the job? My bet is, likely never. Most every performance issue, nearly every team work issue, nearly every dependability issue comes down to BEHAVIORS being out of alignment with what we need, want and expect.
My shorthand for that is FIT!
Which is why I manage the hiring process for many of my clients and we call our unique hiring process “Fit First Hiring”.
I’ve always thought it was the “right” way to do hiring. But today, it is more than that. It is the absolute ONLY way to hire if you expect to get great team members to join you.
You’ll struggle trying to win based on compensation alone. You’ll struggle to build a benefits package that can compete with the big guys.
But if you lean into your beliefs, your values, your principles and your standards, you’ll attract the candidates who not only can do the job well, but will do it in a way that is in complete alignment with who you are and what you are trying to build.
Imagine what that would look like – to have a team of people who are 100% in alignment in these critical areas – mission, vision, beliefs, values, principles and standards.
You’d be UNSTOPPABLE!
That’s what we’re shooting for! Not just finding a few “good” people, but consistently attracting “great” people to your team.
I hope that helps give you some ideas and some inspiration to change the way you’re thinking when it comes to your hiring processes.
If you’d like me to send you the step-by-step process we use with our clients, just drop me an email and I’ll get it to you right away.
Remember, we’ve got the advantage when it comes to hiring great people. We can offer and deliver on our promise of a work environment and culture that is 100% aligned with what they are looking for. We just have to get better at sharing our heart and our passion with those who are thinking about joining our team. This is a GREAT place to start that journey!
Thanks for joining me today. Be sure to tune in next week when we are going to discuss –
KNOWING YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER
You won’t want to miss it!
Meanwhile, if you have a question, suggestion or would like to connect, shoot me an email at rich@tourdeprofit.com
Make it a great week – and whatever you do… RIDE HARD!
– Rich
