{"id":2146,"date":"2018-03-07T14:51:01","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T19:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovators.org\/?p=2146"},"modified":"2018-10-05T05:34:59","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T09:34:59","slug":"cultures-that-inspire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovators.org\/stage\/blog\/Cultures-That-Inspire","title":{"rendered":"Cultures that Inspire!"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no doubt that attracting talented people is one of the latest challenges that business leaders are facing.\u00a0 Let\u2019s define talented people as those that have options \u2013 they have skills and experiences that are viewed as attractive and therefore can command a premium in terms of pay or at least in terms of interest.<\/p>\n

\"Important<\/a>We might assume that the most important thing to these people is compensation and while a report titled Talent Wars from Development Counsellors International <\/em>(DCI) shows that to be true the other factors bear some investigation.\u00a0 But first, let\u2019s recognize that very few companies are in a position to pay the highest salaries across the board so how do you differentiate yourself from other potential employers?<\/p>\n

Let me suggest that several of the items on this list are really Company Culture topics \u2013 not just the explicit one.<\/p>\n

Work-Life Balance<\/h2>\n

Work-Life Balance is next on the list and this is something that either exists in a company and aggressively defended by employees and managers or it doesn\u2019t exist and employees want it. \u00a0A culture of Work-Life Balance can exist and it doesn\u2019t necessarily cost money.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Company Benefits are often a question of money.\u00a0 Most people are talking about health benefits, paid time off, retirement plans and things like maternity leave and tuition reimbursement.\u00a0 These, at the end of the day, cost money and while you have to get them right it is hard to differentiate on these elements without again spending lots of money.<\/p>\n

Let me argue that the following items can be seen as Company Culture.\u00a0 Already mentioned is Work-Life Balance and now add Advancement Opportunities, Meaningful Work, Colleagues and Co-workers and Diversity \u2013 these are all Cultural elements.\u00a0 Workplace Cultures are defined by what is important to the leaders<\/strong> and they show up as what is Valued.\u00a0 Values when lived regularly drive Culture.<\/strong>\u00a0 So, when we value hiring from within, or good workplace relations between groups or having diversity in our business these things are subsets of Workplace Culture.\u00a0 What is wonderful is that these things don\u2019t have to cost any money.\u00a0 Being different from a major talent competitor takes time and effort but won\u2019t exhaust your expense line.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you hear about the talent wars in Silicon Valley, what comes to mind is the free lunches or the snacks available in amply stocked kitchens.\u00a0 These of course cost money but they aren\u2019t the most important things you should be thinking of mimicking.<\/p>\n

\"FamilyTop of the list is Work-Life Balance.\u00a0 What this looks like in the companies we at 1-degree<\/a> have worked with is clear expectations for everyone and importantly every company can be different.\u00a0 For some, this is an ability to leave early on Friday if extra hours were added Monday to Thursday.\u00a0 For others it is the ability to drive a child to gymnastics at 3 in the afternoon and get back online after dinner.\u00a0 What is possible or practical is really dependant on the type of business you run.\u00a0 Underneath this is the recognition that people have lives and they aren\u2019t being asked to sacrifice that life for the business<\/strong>.\u00a0 It is a partnership that requires balancing competing priorities.<\/p>\n

Advancement Opportunities<\/h2>\n

One of my favorite cultural elements is Advancement Opportunities.\u00a0 When we see workplaces that value advancement we see businesses that put employees in challenging situations that demand that they learn and grow often in advance of what they think is possible.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t have to be promotions, but it does have to be challenging work.\u00a0 Sometimes people don\u2019t rise to the opportunity but when they do it is amazing to see the positive that comes from that.\u00a0 Think of this as putting people in situations prior to a promotion as a test or trial run \u2013 when they deliver it is easy to promote the individual.\u00a0 Of course, Advancement Opportunities are easier to generate in a growing business but \u2018giving people a shot\u2019 is one way to prove that opportunities for promotion are right around the corner.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Without going into each one of the elements that I identify as Cultural let me say that investing in Culture is about being clear about what is important and then making sure that all the managers in a business are singing from the same song sheet.\u00a0 Confusion is the enemy of clarity.\u00a0 Clear Cultures make the wanted behaviours from employees and leaders crystal clear.\u00a0\u00a0 When we know what is expected \u2018around here\u2019 and we can act without being worried about \u2018doing it right\u2019 we create speed and momentum but more importantly we reduce cognitive dissonance.\u00a0 When people are confused they are weak.\u00a0 When we feel weak we don\u2019t tell our friends how much fun we are having at work.\u00a0 When passionate people feel like they are tackling important problems surrounded by smart and similarly passionate people they broadcast a positive energy that is incredibly attractive to those talented people with options.<\/p>\n

Have you ever visited a business and you could just tell that everything was different the moment you walked in the door?\u00a0 That is what I am talking about.\u00a0 The investment in building a culture that inspires the people already working for you is the best way to attract new talent to your organization.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Innovators Alliance is a peer-to-peer networking group of CEOs committed to driving business growth through innovation.\u00a0<\/strong>Join us for an upcoming event to see what it\u2019s all about!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Is your company innovative?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Try our Innovator Self-Test.<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0It has only 10 questions and takes less than 2 minutes!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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