In a Nutshell: Mastering the “soft stuff” isn’t just the hard part about building a dynamic culture — it’s the best part. The companies that are winning the ongoing battle for top talent have absolute clarity on their values, morals, ethics, commitment to diversity and inclusivity, and performance standards. And they use that clarity to create a culture by design, not by default, that the brightest and the best want to be a part of.
Guest: Brian Kropp, Distinguished VP, Research at Gartner.
My Key Takeaways:
- The best companies are always hiring. Based on his research, Brian anticipates that the labor market is going to stay hot no matter what happens in our economy. If you keep settling for C players it’s only going to get harder to replace them.
- Be intentional about communication. WFH has killed the water cooler and random drop-by. Leaders need a plan for creating those moments of connection that build culture, both virtually and in person.
- Balance the science and the art of hiring by combining detailed analytics with a deep understanding of your culture to help you identify and retain the people your firm needs.
Also Learn:
- The workplace trends that are driving this competitive labor market and pushing up the “churn rate.”
- How to make new employees feel “embedded” in your organization faster.
- Tips to improve your virtual communication so that employees don’t feel like they’re just on another Zoom meeting.
- How to expand your firm’s definition of work flexibility beyond working from home.
- How questions of equity are transforming the value of benefits.
- Potential long-term ramifications of workplace flexibility you may not be thinking about yet.
- Does your firm need a “chief purpose officer?”
- Why Brian believes leaders should study companies that survived near-death experiences rather than trying to emulate big tech firms that print money.
Complementary podcasts:
- Paul Blease and I discussed synergistic team-building and why it’s an effective way to create culture and retain top talent. Listen/read here.
- Anand Sekhar and I discussed creating an employee value proposition that goes well beyond what you pay them. Listen/read here.
