The Secret to Finding (and retaining) The Best Employees
The best possible employees come from two places:
- They move into the town/city you operate in and are needing a job to replace the one they had
- They are already working for someone else
Now, if we look at the first option, those who move into your city/town, you have to understand that these employees will find work very fast. If you’re not actively hiring, there’s a good chance that you will miss out on these workers simply because you didn’t have an opening when they were looking. Obviously, when people move, expenses are high, and they will compromise values (in terms of their ideal workplace) for convenience (of finding a job)…For now at least.
You’re going to have to wait until they tire of the job they found out of convenience and begin looking for a new one once they’re settled in.
So, the focus of what I’m outlining for you is primarily going to be in regards to Option 2 because if you want any shot of getting quality people to work for you, they’re going to fall into this category.
- Big question: Is the grass really greener?
So, we have to first understand why someone would leave their current job for your company.
Now, of course, we can dangle the carrot (money) and pay more. But, ultimately, if that’s all that attracts the person that you’re attempting to win over, chances are, when the opportunity arises when working for you, they’ll leave you for someone else who offers the same thing. So, we want to avoid this at all costs.
- Primarily, most quality employees want to leave where they work because of 3 reasons:
- They don’t feel connected to the vision of why they’re doing what they’re doing
- They don’t feel secure — they feel as though they could lose their job and be unable to provide for their family
- They don’t believe in who they work for, they’re not ok with helping build a business for someone they don’t respect
So, with those 3 in mind, let’s talk about the intangibles you should develop in order to get someone to “jump ship”
Company Culture — Company Culture is becoming increasingly popular simply because of how piss poor leaders are in organizations in terms of “care” and “employee satisfaction”. This is mostly due to the “bottom line” being the #1 focus of most companies, causing them to disregard the “feelings” of the very employees helping them achieve such goals.
Having an appealing company culture is something that great employees are attracted to, again, because chances are if they are looking for work elsewhere, they’re not getting it. You should be actively conveying your vision to your company about what you stand far, what you’re trying to accomplish, and why you’re trying to accomplish it. When people feel attached to a vision, the reason for going to work becomes greater than just “going to work”. This will translate to your customers 10-fold.
Our vision for our house painting company is: “To create such an amazing house painting experience, when we leave, our customers will feel like we’re family”
What’s yours?
Stability — As a business owner, it’s your job to make sure there’s a steady stream of work flowing into your business. Especially now, there’s so much uncertainty in terms of how businesses can stay afloat during these COVID times…so what’s your X-FACTOR? What is your pitch for being able to win a high quality employee over that says, “Hey, don’t ever worry about (insert fear of layoffs, scarcity, etc)…we are stable in this area and have this system in place to ensure we will never go down that path”
This will win someone over who feels uncertain about the future of the company they are wanting to leave.
Owner Empathy — Listen, I don’t care who you are or what business you own. I could honestly care less about your portfolio, what you’ve accomplished, what car you drive, how big your house is…You’re still a human being. Act like one. Treat people with respect. Get to know your employees…have the reputation of the business owner that doesn’t feel like a “boss” but instead feels like a “leader”. Someone that goes to bat for your workers, has their best interest in mind, and makes them feel safe.
These intangibles are what will make the best employees jump ship into your business. It’s that simple.
TLDR: It starts with you.