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It’s Only Common Sense: Solving Your Talent Problem

Some of you will not like this column, but it needs to be said. With all due respect, listen up, and read this with an open mind.

I’ve been talking to company owners over the past six months, and they all say essentially the same thing: “People just don’t want to work anymore.” The reasons for this vary. Workers are spoiled and lazy because “the government gave them too much money,” or “their generation was raised badly,” or “they’re spoiled and expect too much.”

Sound familiar? If you’ve said these things yourself, please don’t feel like I am picking on you. No, I am hearing these things from everyone I talk to—and it’s a problem. This problem is only going to get worse if we don’t start having a little more respect for those we are trying to hire.

There’s a real irony in some people saying the government paid these “spoiled” folks “too much,” as the people claiming that were likely first in line for the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars the government handed out in PPP money. That money was just another form of government welfare, by the way.

When you get right down to it, all of us, in one way or another, are on welfare. Even the old guy who holds up a “Stop Government Entitlement” sign while sitting in his government-bought electric scooter. Personally, I love my old man government insurance—aka Medicare. Yes, even with my six-figure income, I too am on welfare.

Now that I have your attention, this is what I want you to ask yourself:

1. Is my company a good place to work? Why?
2. Would I like to work here today? Not 30 or 40 years ago when some of us started—but today?
3. Why would I want to work here?

If you’re having trouble attracting and retaining good people, there’s a reason for that. Discovering what that reason is going to require some honest reflection and serious introspection on your part. If you want to solve your talent problem, you have to be honest with yourself about what your company is bringing to the table. People want to work at a company that gives them a way forward and up the ladder. They want to feel supported, that their work truly matters, and to be seen as human beings—who wouldn’t?

Figuring out what’s keeping good people away from your company means asking yourself tough questions in each of these areas:

Career Trajectory Questions

1. When we hire someone, do we show them the future?
2. Do we show them a career path, including where they can be in three, five, or 10 years?
3. Have we developed career plans, and do we put new hires on a planned career path?
4. Do we indicate the kind of money they can make going forward?

Learning/Development Questions

1. Have we developed comprehensive orientation plans?
2. Have we developed thorough and thoughtful training programs where new hires learn not only about their immediate jobs, but are also shown the bigger picture?
3. Do we assign each new hire a mentor, someone to take them under their wing and show them the ropes?

Job Satisfaction Questions

1. Do we give them examples of the important work we are doing here, including examples of where and how our products are being used to change the world?
2. Have we considered that the people we are hiring truly matter, that they are important and are, in many cases, the breadwinner for their families? Do our policies, compensation, and benefits packages reflect this?

Let’s take a step back and ask, if nothing else, one simple question: Have your new hires been invited to spend some time with you, the owner or president, so that they can get to know you and you them? Think of the power of that simple act. John Endee, the owner of Photocircuits, used to meet with every single new hire, no matter their position. He would spend three consecutive Wednesday afternoons with them, telling them his personal story and the story of Photocircuits, so that by then end of these sessions, they knew what the company was all about. They understood the company’s values, ethics, and business strategies, and they knew—this is the really important thing—they knew that they were a part of something important, and that they, personally, were an important part of that work at a great company in a great industry. They knew they mattered, that they had value and were valued.  Photocircuits at that time had 400 employees.

All I’m asking is that you think about this issue. It’s not about money. I know that we all have limits on what we can pay; that’s a fact of life when running a business. But showing people their future; demonstrating to them that they are now a part of something important, something that matters; and that, yes, they matter—that’s critical.

Asking yourself these questions and acting on the answers with honesty and sincerity will go a long way toward solving your employee hiring and retention problems.

It’s only common sense.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.