on
These economic conditions empower talented employment seekers
to be selective, creating a recruiting challenge for employers. How will
we attract and retain the best talent? How can we continue to prosper
in all market conditions if job seekers aren’t seeking us? What if we
offer free snacks and foosball? We’ve all heard about the company
culture at Google and other progressive companies that offer amazing
employee perks such as free meals, video games, onsite dry cleaning, and
free massage/wellness clinics. But do these tactics really work and is it
sustainable?
I decided to read Google’s employee reviews on Glassdoor to find out.
While it appears many “Googlers’” really do appreciate those time-
saving and fun perks, the other noticeable trend in the reviews are the
numerous comments regarding their positive company culture including
high-quality caring leadership, growth and learning opportunities,
collaboration, and teamwork. I’m led to believe that it’s truly the company
culture at Google that drives their engagement and team member
satisfaction. The gimmicks and freebies are secondary. So how do we
replicate those positive culture elements today’s workforce really craves?
BEYOND GIMMICKS AND FREEBIES
Building company culture that attracts top talent and keeps them
engaged is not easy and consists of more than gimmicks and freebies.
It starts with having vision for designing the very best work culture
distinguished through behavior characteristics such as openness, honesty,
collaboration, and customer service.
The next step is finding great people who can help you fulfill that
vision.
We have a saying at my company which is “Mindset trumps skill”.
While skill is surely important for business strategy and long-term
financial health, hiring team members with the wrong mindset can
crumble your vision for culture. Skill can be taught but attitude
cannot. While most of us cannot brag about our long list of gimmicks
and freebies in our workplace, there are some of us that can brag
about our company’s culture.
In lieu of gimmicks, think about moving the needle on recruiting,
engagement, and retention through investing in people. Embrace
leadership development programs that improve communication, process,
and strategy execution in every component of your business. Adopt a good
set of core values that guide behavior, performance, and accountability.
Investing in and developing good leaders will help retain your high
performers.
www.aamdhq.org
MARCH 2019
TRENDS | 33