BUS603: Managing People

Winning the war for talent means more than simply attracting workers to your company. It means attracting the right workers - the ones who will be enthusiastic about their work. Enthusiasm for the job requires more than having a good attitude about receiving good pay and benefits - it means that an employee's goals and aspirations also match those of the company. Therefore, it's important to identify employees' preferences and mutually assess how well they align with the company's strategy. To do this, the organization must first be clear about the type of employee it wants. Companies already do this with customers: marketing executives identify specific segments of the universe of buyers to target for selling products. Red Bull, for example, targets college-age consumers, whereas SlimFast goes for adults of all ages who are overweight. Both companies are selling beverages but to completely different consumer segments. Similarly, companies need to develop a profile of the type of workers they want to attract. Do you want entrepreneurial types who seek autonomy and continual learning, or do you want team players who enjoy collaboration, stability, and structure? Neither employee type is inherently "better" than another, but an employee who craves autonomy may feel constrained within the very same structure in which a team player would thrive.

Earlier, we said that it was important to "mutually assess" how well employees' preferences aligned with the company's strategy. One-half of "mutual" refers to the company, but the other half refers to the job candidates. They also need to know whether they'll fit well into the company. One way to help prospective hires make this determination is to describe to them the "signature experience" that sets your company apart. As Tamara Erickson and Lynda Gratton define it, your company's signature experience is the distinctive practice that shows what it's really like to work at your company.

For example, here are the signature experiences of two companies, Whole Foods and Goldman Sachs: At Whole Foods, team-based hiring is a signature experience - employees in each department vote on whether a new employee will be retained after a 4-week trial period. This demonstrates to potential hires that Whole Foods is all about collaboration. In contrast, Goldman Sachs's signature experience is multiple one-on-one interviews. The story often told to prospective hires is of the MBA student who went through 60 interviews before being hired. This story signals to new hires that they need to be comfortable meeting endless new people and building networks across the company. Those who enjoy meeting and being interviewed by so many diverse people are exactly the ones who will fit into Goldman's culture.

The added benefit of hiring workers who match your organizational culture and are engaged in their work is that they will be less likely to leave your company just to get a higher salary.