5 Keys to Building Your DREAM Team

In the first chapter of this 5-part series O highlighted the importance of not settling for an “average” employee (defined as someone who exhibits little initiative and is purely motivated by the paycheck) versus a top-quality employee whose goal is to help you grow your company. The second chapter dealt with the importance of marketing your business to your ideal candidates in job postings and discussions about a vacant position.

This chapter focuses on the importance of building a business that your ideal candidates want to work for...that has a great reputation as a desirable place to work.

Hiring top talent requires more than effectively marketing the open position. It requires that the owner has built a business that attracts the types of candidates that will help take the business to the next level. It’s important to keep in mind that your ideal candidate is probably happily working for someone else, which isn’t to say they won’t move to your company, but rather to suggest you have to present a compelling reason for them to take the risk to change jobs. They have to see in you and your business a better chance for their career development than where they are currently working.

If your goal is to take your business to the next level, then you have to hire top-quality people that will get you there, which means you have to proactively define and create a business that attracts these quality candidates. Sitting back and reactively building your business won’t attract this level of talent. Average businesses attract average employees.

Imagine how much easier it would be if you had people talking to you about working for you even before you post a post.

Develop a Supportive Company Culture

Creating a supportive culture falls squarely on the owner or leader. They are the ones who establishes the culture. Company culture was recently defined in a Forbes Advisor article, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/company-culture/, as “the secret sauce of your organization—one that goes far beyond holiday parties or casual Fridays. Company culture represents the living, breathing persona of your company, capturing the norms, values and behaviors that define the very character of your business. Think of it as your business’s DNA, defining how your team interacts and performs.”

As the owner of your company, when was the last time you considered your company culture or took proactive steps to make the work environment attractive to current and prospective employees? Or, have you taken the passive approach and let the culture define itself? If it’s the latter, you may run the risk of a developing company culture that doesn’t appeal to your ideal candidates, thus wasting your recruiting time and money.

Poor company cultures are the result of business owners either being too absorbed by the day-to-day work of their business to think about their employees in any way other than as workers. Or, they just don’t care about their team members. Regardless of the reason, here are several characteristics that mark companies with  poor company culture:

•       Low employee morale
• High absenteeism
•      Low job satisfaction
•       Over worked – work / life is out of balance
•       A culture of blame, deny and excuse making
•       Owner displays favoritism

On the other hand, attractive company cultures are those where the owner:

•        Is focused on developing the skills of their team
•      Compensates the team well
•      Recognizes importance of providing the needed training and technology
•       Communicates effectively and frequently
•       Builds an empowered team by listening to each team member and delegating appropriately
•       Values fun along with hard work
•       Building an environment that totally supports teamwork and fosters respect amongst all team members

This all may seem obvious, but sadly, many business owners don’t provide healthy and attractive work cultures. Some owners have made partial efforts in providing the above, but just haven’t been proactive or thorough enough. Owners can easily lose sight of the importance of creating an attractive company culture.

Owners of businesses that attract ideal job candidates are those who devote time (can be as little as 5 – 10 hours per week) to building a motivated and empowered team. These owners recognize that their team is their most important asset. So, they take care of them.

Establish the Core Values of Your Business

Core values are the essential principles that govern employee conduct, everyone from the junior to senior members of the team. They are the values that underlie who the company is. When employees, customers, and vendors understand a company’s core values, they understand what the company stands for.

As it relates to recruiting, job candidates want to see that the company has established and enforced core values. By identifying and consistently adhering to their core values, business will  attract job candidates who share those values. This focus on the “human element” of your team will become increasingly important and will create loyalty to you and your company.

During the recruiting process, emphasis must be placed on hiring candidates who will adhere to your core values. This requires skill on the part of the interviewer to ask probing questions to discern how important your business’ core values are to the candidate and to determine whether their responses are genuine. For example, if “integrity” is one of your core values, you can’t just ask, “Are you a person of high integrity?” Everyone will say yes, leaving you with no better understanding of how highly the candidate values integrity.

Instead, try asking one of the following questions:

• Tell me about a specific time when you had to handle a tough problem that involved fairness or ethical issues. What happened and how did you respond?
• When was the last time you “broke the rules?” What was the situation and what did you do?
• Describe a situation where you saw an employee or co-worker do something you thought was inappropriate. What did you do?

These questions require thought on the part of the interviewee and will provide you the opportunity to assess the truthfulness of the response.

Commit to Recognizing Employees for their Good Work

A study conducted by Gallup and Workhuman, a firm that specializes in creating productive work environments,  https://www.gallup.com/analytics/472658/workplace-recognition-research.aspx, concluded that “strategic employee recognition – meaning, recognition that is fulfilling, authentic, equitable, embedded in company culture, and personalized to the individual – is critical for cultivating an environment where both employees and the business thrive.”

People like to be recognized for work well done. Recognition motivates team members, builds their self-esteem and feelings of belonging, and socializes their work to other employees. It’s a simple strategy to building an empowered workforce; however, all too often business owners think they are too busy to focus on such an important strategy.

Final Thoughts

Many employers focus solely on external recruiting activities and don’t realize that the company’s culture is one of the primary factors in attracting ideal candidates. What is the point of spending your time and money in recruiting top-notch talent, only to have those new employees quickly lose interest in your business? You’ll be forced to start the recruiting process all over again.

Having a team of top-quality employees is critical to the success of your business. Building that team requires careful consideration to your company’s culture. Don’t overlook this key aspect your vision and mission.

The next chapter ins this 5-part series will explore the importance the direct involvement of business owners with their team has in making the business a desirable place to work.

I specialize in working with business owners to build superior teams. Give me a call at (404) 444-1836 or book time on my calendar at https://calendly.com/jefflovejoy/recruiting-and-hire-conversation, and let’s discuss your situation. I will be happy to share some ideas and strategies that have been successful for my business-owner clients.