Employment Resource Group, Inc. Hire. Engage. Retain. Employment Resource Group, Inc.

Through the lens of a 21-year recruiter • Point #1 – There is no such thing as the “perfect company”. • Point #2 – The companies that focus on the people side of the business as well as the technical aspects of the business statistically grow faster than those who just focus on growth through innovation, new products, technology or capital investments. • Point #3 – Companies go through life cycles and depending on where your firm is in its life cycle will depend on where the main emphasis is. Industry and revenue determine length of time between cycles but emphasis will revolve like this – people, process, people, process etc. • Point #4 - Street smart leaders (strong EQ) are much better leaders overall than book smart leaders (strong IQ). More on this later.

HIRE

Values Matter Hiring to Build A Strong Culture: How many of you believe your current company emulates the values on the pretty plaque hanging on your foyer wall? Do the values listed emulate how the leadership “behaves” everyday? In other words, is the leadership of your organization demonstrating the core values that are pinpointed as most important? The difference in a strong culture or a dysfunctional culture comes down to two words: SHARED VALUES

Why hiring to values matter There are many reasons why a company that believes in, behaves and hires to shared values has a much stronger culture than those that don’t: We hire candidates with a focus on the head (can they DO the job), but people normally lose jobs because of their heart (how they integrate into your culture). If we interview with a dual focus on skillset and values alignment, we have a greater chance that the person will integrate in and emulate the values and therefore be success on the job and in it. This isn’t about everyone thinking the same. Quite the contrary, we want people who bring new ideas and innovation. This is about a core values system about acceptable behaviors with each other and as a representative of the company.

But I’m an HR Professional in Values Hell (shared values – what’s that But I’m an HR Professional in Values Hell (shared values – what’s that?). What should I do? Values are driven into an organization from the top down, primarily from the President/CEO. Finding out what is important to them in a good hire and “successful” employee is critical. Today’s greatest challenge in making this successful for HR – generational gap. Boomers – hard work, dedication, drives results, accountability. Millennials – values differences, working for a cause, effective teamwork and creativity.

Two Clients - Competitors Client A Client B Interpersonal Savvy Decision Quality Communicates Effectively Being Resilient Courage Tech Savvy Customer Focus Financial Acumen Instills Trust Manages Conflict Situational Adaptability Cultivates Innovation Demonstrates Self-Awareness Global Perspective Drive Results Plan and Aligns Balances Stakeholders Persuades Manages Complexity Notice how one firm is very aligned around customer care and interpersonal relationships. The other is aligned around profitable growth and innovation. EQ vs IQ Workplace environment – Speed of Work- Client A is fast paced and noise. Client B is quiet and methodical. They try and attract each other employees, yet seldom does it work out long term.

Steps to Cultural Hiring Step One: Determine who you are, truly, from a shared values perspective. Gather your leadership team for a couple of hours of “culture people work”. We utilize a Values Card Sort – or you can facilitate open discussion around this topic – but if your team is not demonstrating the values on the wall – this is critical work because this is the number one cause of turnover!! Step Two: Once you are on the same page with Shared Values – then you need to establish Guiding Principles – agreement on how these values will “behave” everyday. Leadership demonstrates first. Step Three: Establish hiring guidelines (interview questions) that will assist everyone who interviews with the ability to not just judge technical competency, but taking the alignment piece deeper than “I really like him or her”.

Engage

The Challenges with engagement We’re finding companies more than ever are in disarray with true employee engagement in our area. Several factors we observe are causing this: Baby Boomers who helped the organization grow are starting to think about retirement. Regardless, they are hesitant to transfer their knowledge to the next generation(s) because they are convinced they won’t stay long enough to take over their workload. Many organizations are “outgrowing” the capabilities of the early employees who helped the organization grow early on. Innovation and growth are starting to suffer, yet the company doesn’t want to “dishonor” those who helped the company get to where it is. Leaders are not doing a great job of communicating the company’s “why”. Employee want to know that what they are doing is making a difference. As they grow within the company, they want to know how this can change and grow.

Here are some numbers… 63% of employees worldwide are "not engaged"—that is, they lack motivation and are less likely to invest discretionary effort. In the US, the annual price tag for preventable turnover in a business with 10,000 employees is a whopping $75M Companies with engaged employees outperform those without by up to 202%. https://www.juiceinc.com/blog/show/10-critical-facts-you-should-know-about-employee-engagement

Engage Engagement encompasses a lot of things. It starts with onboarding and continues through training, leadership development, performance management, career-pathing, etc. When employees are engaged, the end result includes faster decisions, they feel more autonomy, trust, demonstrated mutual respect and great synergy exists. Today’s employees want to be motivated to a purpose. Do you know what your firm’s story is?

Oshkosh Defense Video

When HR and Marketing Collide To engage today’s generation of worker, you have to have a compelling reason for them to be excited about the work your company is doing. We all have a purpose – it is important you understand yours. This purpose needs to be communicated frequently and in order for employees to engage, they need to understand how their role impacts this purpose.

Solutions to Engagement Shared Values and guiding principles on behaviors need to be established and trained for both new and tenured employees for alignment ( how do we respectfully engage with each other). Succession planning and career-pathing are critical for all employees to understand their future and subsequent impact within the organization. This creates accountability, ownership and loyalty. Employees need to be given tasks and projects where they can successfully contribute and see their own bright future, even if outside their normal scope. Performance reviews should be employee-driven. Understanding their desires will assist with who is high potential (has the ability to be a leader), high performing (key leader so retention a focus) or who needs a performance plan. This also offers a wonderful open dialogue with each employee, with less work for each Supervisor. Integrating fun into the workplace to create a work environment that foster longevity and balance.

Employee Development Plan Career-Pathing As an Executive Search firm, we call employees every day. It is obvious which firms have Employee Development Plans and those that don’t. “People won’t buy what we have to offer if they already have the same offering right where they are”

Retain

Retention strategies Step One: Determine who should be retained. Let’s be real, you can’t be all things to all people. Start with your key performers, then your high potentials, then those that you see in a strong capacity into the future. Step Two: Design programs around strategic thinking/challenge, critical thinking, problem solving etc. that will help leaders grow. For non- leadership, design team building, continuous improvement etc. – anything that keeps their minds challenged Step Three: Career-path them to success. Assist them in growing their career with your company. Step Four: Involve them in Innovative thinking. Off sites can be a great morale booster and can also be positioning as recognition for a job well done.

Stay in the know Employee Engagement Surveys Compensation-Benefits Audit Continuous training and development programs Reward and recognition programs Have fun!!

My two cents… A few parting words from a gal who has been around a long time: We are going to be in a talent war – much more than we are experiencing now. The largest number of baby boomers will be retiring in the next 3-5 years and the number one state in loss of numbers is Wisconsin. Employers who will make it through this war will figure out how to hire for competency and not just resume in filling their voids. Talent planning from Strategic plan will assist in opportunity hire – when the best and brightest are available. Make sure you are poised to take advantage of this. Find a partner you trust to help. Great search firms/consultants are not just about the money – they really are about making each of you look great in the eyes of your Supervisor! We’re all eating the same Elephant!

Questions? 3100 North Ballard Road Appleton, WI 54911 [p] 920.996.9700 • [f] 920.996.9701 [e] talent@ergsearch.com www.ergsearch.com