The Difference Between Attracting and Recruiting Top Talent
3 fundamentals that lead some organizations to attract premier performers with ease while others flail about trying to recruit them
Every company wants to hire great people. But not every business has the same level of success in their attempts to do so. In fact, most organizations work hard recruiting top talent, but see little fruit for their efforts; conversely, a select few seem to be able to attract more quality applicants than they can possibly hire.
So, what accounts for this dichotomy? Why are some organizations able to attract premier performers while others flail about in their attempts to recruit them?
An Observation about Successful Companies
Organizations become magnets for talent when who they are and why they exist appeals to high performers, not just what they do and produce.
The longer I’ve been in business, the more I’ve come to believe (and observe) that there is something organic about success in any aspect of an enterprise — especially when it comes to securing top talent.
By “organic,” I mean certain fundamentals have seeped deep into the companies’ cultures. These fundamentals are about who they are as employers and companies. It’s not their processes, systems, or strategies but rather their core philosophies that engender these fundamentals.
Companies that develop the fundamentals of their identity are irresistible. Their employer brand is well-known because word of mouth has spread … organically. These organizations have built reputations of such note that individuals who don’t even work there are willing to evangelize for them.
“Okay, can you be a little more concrete?” you say. “Enough with the touchy-feely stuff. How are these companies creating an environment that allows these ‘organic’ fundamentals to take root? And what the heck are those fundamentals?”
Fair enough.
3 Steps to Developing an Irresistible Employer Brand
I have observed 3 fundamentals at work in organizations that are magnets for top talent.
1. Their product or service makes their customers’ lives better.
Call it what you want — mission, purpose, a company’s “why.” Organizations that have people evangelizing for them are improving their customers’ lives by helping them:
- get something done quicker or easier
- fill a void
- achieve a goal
- advance a cause
- solve a problem
- facilitate a change
And when people working in those organizations see the impact their efforts are having, they become tied to their employee experience in an organic way.
But it’s not enough to simply produce a product or provide a service that makes lives better.
Successful company leaders must tell their business’s story compellingly to the people who work for them. They must communicate to every employee why their role specifically matters to the value they are creating for their customers.
2. They treat their employees like growth partners.
For irresistible companies, this point is not just a meme. It’s actually the way they think about their people.
Again, it’s organic. Company leaders cannot fakethis —people know whether they are viewed and treated as growth partners or not.
There are two dimensions to this fundamental:
Role Identity
Organizations that magnetize premier talent define clear roles for their people and identify quantifiable outcomes each person is responsible for. The conversations they have with their growth partners include all of the following points:
- “Here’s the end goal our company is shooting for.
- Getting there matters because x, y, and z.
- When we get there, here is how you will benefit.
- Here is the business model and strategy we are implementing to fulfill our vision.
- This is your role in that model and strategy, and this is what is expected of you in that role (i.e., here’s how you are expected to create value).”
Value Sharing
The other way these companies treat their employees as growth partners is by allowing them to participate in the wealth multiple they help create. In other words, high performers share in the financial success of the company in much the same way owners do.
This does not mean these organizations share stock, necessarily. It means they have mechanisms for sharing financial value, both short- and long-term, with those who drive that value. As a result, the extension of the conversation described above goes something like this:
- “Here are the financial targets the company has set.
- These are the rewards programs we have instituted to share value with those who help create value in our organization — the people who help us achieve our financial goals.
- Here are the specific results for which you’re responsible.
- And here is the annual and future value you will receive if you help us hit our targets.”
When employees are having this kind of experience with a company, they talk about it — a lot. They do so because they feel valued. And they feel valued because they are treated like growth partners. When a company has created this kind of culture, word gets out.
3. The leverage their people’s unique abilities.
“I’m working harder than I’ve ever worked, but I don’t even mind. I love everything I’m doing.”
The final key to attracting rather than recruiting top talent is to align employee roles with their unique abilities.
Unique abilities are not just strengths. They are the things people are good at doing and love doing, and if they were able to spend virtually all their time doing them, they would become genius at those things. When people are working within the realm of their unique abilities, they don’t feel like they are working.
Example 1
After graduating from college, my son was hired by a start-up company to fill a marketing role. Leadership quickly uncovered his unique abilities and gave him projects where his genius could be manifest. I remember having a conversation with him after he’d worked for the business about a year. I asked him how things were going.
“Dad, I’m working harder than I’ve ever worked, but I don’t even mind. I love everything I’m doing. I’m exhausted most of the time, but it’s okay.”
That’s what happens when people are allowed to work in the realm of their “genius.”
Example 2
Successful baseball franchises don’t sign great relief pitchers and then ask them to play first base. Management knows where each of their players specialize and lets them perform in capacities where they thrive. The franchise treats every player on the team as a niche specialist. That collection of unique abilities is what creates a winning team in sports, and the same formula works in business.
When organizations build unique teams around individuals’ unique abilities, they create a competitive advantage for themselves.
Conclusion
When employees feel like their talents are expanding as a result of their roles, when they feel like they’re treated as growth partners, and when they witness how their work positively impacts the lives of real people, they experience fulfillment. Successful organizations harness that collective satisfaction and turn it into a culture of confidence that consistently wins.
Winning organizations attract the people they want. It’s a natural byproduct of who they are and the growth partner experience they provide.
Originally published at https://visionlink.co.
