How to Attract and Retain the Right People

If you're one of the many executives struggling with finding and keeping the right people to propel your business forward, you'll find these insights helpful.

If you're frustrated by trying to motivate people, work instead to develop a company where people are self-motivated ? where they do things because they want to. When we're inspired, we enjoy our work, we're productive, and we're proud of our efforts. We remain focused and committed to the task at hand. In short, we put forth out best effort.

An organization will attract and retain a team of people dedicated to the success of the organization and its goals when it has a Purpose, a Mission, and a set of Values that it lives by, effectively communicates them throughout the organization, and measures its actions and decisions against them. Let's define what Purpose, Mission and Values are and talk about the implications of having them clearly defined and embodied in the organization.

Purpose:

Purpose is the "WHY" of the equation. Purpose defines why we do what we do. It defines why we go to work each day. Without purpose, people just go through the motions and as most of us know, there's a great difference between activity and achievement. Having a purpose creates a yardstick, so to speak, to measure our decisions against. It helps us become passionate, helps us to select among the many options presented to us, helps us make better hiring decisions, and keeps us on track. It's possible to succeed without a clear purpose, but having one speeds and magnifies the results.

When a company has a clearly defined purpose it begins to act as a magnet, attracting the kind of people who will further the purpose; people who are like-minded. Not only will having a purpose retain the right people, but it will also act to attract them. This is the power behind the success of many not-for-profit organizations. Although they often are unable to pay their staff great sums of money, they continue to attract and retain people who are dedicated and who work hard to achieve the purpose of the organization. While your organization's purpose may not be as altruistic as a not-for-profit's purpose, it definitely plays an important, almost critical, role.

How you develop a meaningful purpose? Involve people throughout the organization in order to develop and distill the essence of why your organization exists. Don't simply rely on the executive team to develop and then dictate the purpose to the group. And certainly don't rely on an outside company to create your purpose for you! It has been my experience that a well-defined statement of purpose is a single sentence, crafted to capture the essence of "why" the organization exists using as few words as possible and resonating when read or spoken. This brings clarity and energy to it, and makes it much easier to keep in mind when making decisions and policies.

Mission:

Mission is the "WHAT" of the equation. Mission defines what the company does to achieve its Purpose. The better defined a company's mission is, the easier it is to choose among the many opportunities that will present themselves. A mission ? the means to achieve the Purpose - can be fairly narrow or be somewhat broad. However, one that is too narrow can unduly restrict an organization from considering opportunities that would otherwise be an excellent fit, and one that is too broad offers no guidance at all and may cause an organization to spread itself too thin, do a poor job at everything, and essentially dilute its effectiveness.

How do you determine an appropriate mission? Again, remember to involve people throughout the organization to develop and distill the essence of what your organization is about. Don't simply rely on the executive level to develop and then dictate the mission to the group. Work to strike that balance between clarity and confinement ? not too broad, yet not overly restrictive.

Values:

Values are the "HOW" of the equation. Values define how the Mission will be carried out in an effort to achieve the Purpose. They define the "rules of the game". Some of these values will come to mind quite easily, things like honesty, courtesy, kindness, and ethics. But some other important values will only surface when brainstorming takes place - when different perspectives and voices are heard. Values like authenticity and vulnerability may be placed on the table for consideration. (Which, by the way, are two essential qualities of an exceptional leader.) It doesn't matter which values are decided upon as being important to the company. What is important however, is that whatever they are, everyone in the company lives by and supports them. It's important that the policies and decisions of the company are in alignment with them. If the company has an acknowledged list of values it purports to live by and then chooses to ignore them, the list becomes a sore point and acts as a negative reflection of what kind of organization you really lead.

When a company has clearly defined its Purpose, Mission, and Values, then all decisions, policies, and actions will have a measuring stick to keep them on course and you will have an organization which attracts and keeps the best! You'll create an organizational culture which naturally acts as a magnet to attract and retain like-minded people. And you'll also have the framework to interview about the things that matter most to you and your organization. No longer will people be hired based solely on technical abilities or simply to fill seats.

Exceptional leadership inspires the best effort in others!

Written by Michael Beck, President of Exceptional Leadership, Inc., a leadership development and executive coaching firm dedicated to creating exceptional leadership for higher profits and greater job satisfaction. Michael can be reached at 877-977-8956 or mbeck@XLeaders.com, and you can learn more about the company and these ideas at http://www.XLeaders.com Permission to reprint with full attribution. Copyright 2004, Exceptional Leadership, Inc.

---

Summertime Blues

It's hard to believe the year will be half over... Read More

Innovation Management ? Emotion, Habit, and Culture can be Hard to Change!

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: The Responsibility for Job Security

This article relates to the Job Security competency, commonly evaluated... Read More

Effective Multi Cultural International Business Meetings

Of the many areas in international business where cultural differences... Read More

Business Innovation ? Value versus Quality

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Innovation Management ? Producing Great Products, Motivation

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Five Essential Hiring Practices

Recruiting and hiring are often done in haste, leaving the... Read More

What Personal Assistants Really Want

What would happen if the personal assistants in your organisation... Read More

What Is Business Sense?

What is the principal thing you need to succeed in... Read More

Service Level Agreement (SLA) Boot Camp

Service Level Agreements, or "SLA's" are tricky but useful mechanisms... Read More

Forecasting Support Costs

Did you know that maintenance accounts for 50% to 80%... Read More

Management Team Section of Business Plans

Writing an award winning business plan is a great skill,... Read More

Setting a Pitiful Example: Twenty-six Warnings to Heed *

TO: All Parents [and Employers and Managers]From: Your Child and/or... Read More

How Your Feelings and Those of Your Employees Can Make The Difference

How we feel is really more important than what we... Read More

Eight Key Steps to Building B2B Major Account Client Alliances

Audiences who saw the fabled Broadway musical, Chorus Line, marveled... Read More

Creating A Vision ? Bringing Your Dreams Into Reality

Do you have some goals you want to achieve or... Read More

Change and Performance - Training May Not Be The Answer

Introducing new products or services, bringing new people on board,... Read More

Performance Management Made Easy

Performance Management is a process that both employer and employee... Read More

Coaching Employees in the Workplace

After a full week of training, you are still a... Read More

Bar Charts Brought to Life: Index of Interactive Information for HTML and PDF

Bar Charts and the Information ChallengeWhether one is an unknown... Read More

Recognition: A Quick, Low-cost Way to Motivate Employees

Recognizing good performance through praise or other positive action is... Read More

Innovation Management ? Raw brainpower versus experience

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Sexual Harassment Policy Guidelines Part I

Sexual Harassment Policy Guidelines ? Part IPermission is hereby granted... Read More

Employee Performance - If You Want the Best, Get Personal!

This is a story about a man and three dogs.I... Read More

Balance Your Managerial Life

We have only one life, but we live in three... Read More

Working with Hearing Impaired Employees - Giving Them a Fair Go

Hearing impaired people often encounter difficulty at work because their... Read More

Focus and Shoot

One of my earliest childhood memories is watching Lew Alcindor... Read More

How To Turn Business Losses Into Cash Flow

When the typical new business operator starts a business, they... Read More

Popular Business Misconceptions Cost You Money!

Faulty information costs you money! Which of these popular business... Read More

Improving Your Inter-Company Communications At No Cost

It's all very well having a flashy (and expensive) advertising... Read More

Managing Change in the Workplace

Change is exhilarating. Change is terrifying. Change is badly needed... Read More

Project Management - I Want It ALL

The knee-jerk response to prioritizing requirements is to mark everything... Read More

Organize your Office- Seven Solutions

1. Create a filing system with broad categories such as... Read More