One doesn’t really hire a great workforce. It’s easy to sit down with resumes and do the interview process. More than likely what that will get you is a company full of highly qualified people with little synergy and individual goals. Great work forces grow organically, like a garden. The workforce requires constant work, effort and nurturing. And every now and then a weed grows or a plant doesn’t mature as it should so you need to be mindful of how that affects the rest of the garden and be quick to act. Always give it a chance but watch closely and protect the rest of the garden.
The team you put together is the single greatest tool for success but the process must start with leadership and culture. Good leadership will attract good people. Great passionate leaders will attract true teammates that are in for the long haul, something critical for businesses that need to be nimble and able to adapt to changing conditions, especially when a company faces challenges. If you provide a place of safety where your team can grow and contribute without fear, you can’t fail. But this comes with liabilities as well. If you empower your team to make individual and collective decisions as if they owned the business, even when they don’t pan out as anticipated you MUST support the decision. Leaving a teammate out to dry will create animosity and prevent them from acting as an owner in the future. On the other hand, the pride an employee feels when they accomplish something on their own is contagious and will lead to taking more initiative. Great leaders create the best leaders. And always look at continuing education as both an investment in the teammate and the company.
But if great leadership is the mind then the culture of the company is most surely the heart of the organization. Your team MUST live and breathe what the company believes in and its message. What a company does is important but HOW they do it distinguishes them from the pack and ultimately that is why someone chooses to do business with you. We employ a family first style of culture. Always let your team know that you believe in a balance of home and work. Never ask your employee to sacrifice an irreplaceable moment in their family life for work. When you prioritize their lives they will in turn prioritize your business and their teammates. Share their joys and comfort them through the hard times. Whereas there is always an org chart, EVERY member of the team needs to not only feel it but know that they are an integral part of the team’s success. No matter what the role, EVERY tooth in the sprocket is critical in making the machine move smoothly. This can’t be word candy, leadership has to truly believe that message and live it to convince the team of it. We utilize team events like company ping pong tournaments, yoga and guided meditation, dog rescue but most importantly let the ideas come from your team. Off-site companywide events are critical not just for the employee but also for their spouses and significant others. They are part of the family as well and need to have the confidence it the team that their loved ones spend so much time with. For your employee this is their home away from home. Let them make it their happy place and watch the pride that comes with it.
So if you have great leadership and provide a wonderful work environment the result will surely be a team that proudly delivers the highest level of customer experience. That is the single difference between prosperity and failure and is something you cannot teach. If you can achieve these goals, hiring a workforce is the least of your worries. They will come to you. – Scott Maskin, CEO/Co-Founder of SUNation Solar Systems
