Take Your Employees to the
Next Level of Success
Many CEOs say "I want to take my company to the next level" and "People are our biggest assets." Not nearly as many say "I want to take my people to the next level." It would follow from the first two statements that the third would be a high-payoff strategy. Sometimes employees are seen merely as containers of knowledge and conveyors of activity or cogs in a machine and static assets. But CEOs who can maximize development of their people enjoy an advantage over their competitors. Your first step should be to recognize and nurture your company's culture, which it has, even if you didn't intentionally design it. Just like your company brand communicates with the market, your culture communicates with employees, both current and potential. A company with a well-defined culture and employees who are aligned with that culture is more productive simply because there is less uncertainty, fear, maneuvering, competition and friction. Misalignment between a company's employees and its culture, even if it is not bad enough to be considered significant sans energy and creativity, increases turnover, makes management more difficult and drags down high performers. |
"So be clear about your culture and make it a priority to attract those who are a fit and avoid those who aren't."
--Glenn Krauser
HCA Partner
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In any industry the best employees, the ones you want, are the ones who "fit" your culture. "So be clear about your culture and make it a priority to attract those who are a fit and avoid those who aren't," says Human Capital Advisors Partner Glenn Krauser. Some of the things that can define a company culture are the degree to which core values are applied consistently, the level of respect afforded individuals, how much cooperation there is among employees and departments, and to what degree beliefs are shared across the organization. It doesn't necessarily require a lot of time or money to start defining and showcasing your company's culture. Here are a few steps you can take: - Begin by clearly identifying and living your own values.
- Be clear and direct about your vision and goals.
- Set and reinforce specific performance expectations, then measure and celebrate the results.
- Determine how your organization wants to motivate employees. Remember that job satisfaction is sometimes less about money than about opportunity, recognition and relationships.
- Make communication a constant presence in your company.
- Empower employees. Allow them to have meaningful input into the organization so they will feel attached and valued.
- Learn from the best practices of other companies.
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"Once you have an understood and embraced culture in place, the most direct way to improve the productivity of your employees is to build their individual capabilities" adds John Hrastar, a leader in HCA's Executive Advisory practice. Additional education will improve the skills and knowledge they need to do their jobs. Employees can develop their skills by getting training specific to a job, adopting industry best practices or learning from colleagues.
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"Once you have an understood and embraced culture in place, the most direct way to improve the productivity of your employees is to build their individual capabilities."
--John Hrastar
HCA CEO Advisor
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Cross-training employees to do more than one job has multiple benefits. The new knowledge builds a culture of constant improvement. Employees doing the training often get better at their own job because they must think through the various aspects of it, understand them and document them. Also, people learn better and retain more when they know they need to pass their knowledge along to others. Your team becomes more robust and less dependent on any single person, and employees have more growth paths.
Sometimes unlearning is the key. In a company growing rapidly, everyone needs to continually adapt, though some people naturally resist change or can't understand how they must adjust to new performance demands or company structure. A person who has been through these types of transitions can be invaluable as a guide, mentor and coach. Look for mentors who have really learned the ropes and will transmit the company's cultural values throughout the process. Recognize and reward your strong mentors because they are building value. Sometimes the problem is the employee, who while good in the past, doesn't cut it anymore. The company has outgrown that employee. The personality type who thrives in a small or startup company may get stifled when things get more formalized. Perhaps someone who managed a small team is not capable of leading a more complex one.
A regular review and evaluation of employees constantly raises the bar on performance expectation. An employee should be assessed not just on technical skills, but on teamwork, attitude and growth potential as well.
You needn't do it all by yourself. Going to the next level takes commitment, focus and effort. Fortunately, there are plenty of people within your company who would love to help you get there. Use them to help you create the opportunities.
Focusing on getting your team to the next level will likely get your company there too!
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Meet A Partner
Glenn Krauser
Glenn leads HCA's Talent Acquisition practice. His career experience of over 30 years incorporates human resources, talent acquisition, accounting and administration in both the US and overseas. Glenn has led human capital functions in large organizations such as AT&T and Arthur Andersen and has established and developed human capital functions to serve smaller high-growth entities as well. His international experience spans a number of markets, including Canada, the UK, Egypt, the Czech Republic and the former Soviet Union. Glenn possesses expertise in executive team building, the alignment of HR/recruiting services with business objectives, infrastructure development and all facets of talent acquisition. Glenn holds a BS in commerce from the University of Virginia.
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Meet An Advisor
John Hrastar
John is a Business Advisor and a leader in the Executive Advisory practice at HCA. He has more than twenty years of experience as a CEO, interim CEO and CEO Advisor. John founded InterSource, a CEO Advisory firm, in 1990. InterSource was voted the best management consulting firm in the Washington, DC area for midsized companies. John works with leaders to realize and enhance their performativity as they create and execute their strategic plans. He has guided clients through a variety of processes, including developing a robust management team, creating and managing a board of advisors or directors, instituting consistent systems and processes, implementing leadership succession and initiating organizational innovation. John also integrates his work with that of other stakeholders, experts and advisors and has developed processes to facilitate that cooperative approach.
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