We’ve seen companies such as Toys R Us and RadioShack go bankrupt over the last few years because they were unable to get in front of shifting consumer expectations and, with the lowest unemployment rate in recent history, we may soon be seeing more companies go bankrupt on talent for the same reason.
The rules of the loyalty game have shifted, people don’t expect to stay in their same jobs more than 2-3 years, and great people in every industry know their worth and bring certain expectations to work with them. if your organization is unable to acknowledge this seismic shift in power, you may be destined for an unfortunate disaster.
What you can do about it?
Play the start-up game.
Everyone wants to work for a cool start-up, don’t they? And while there’s the pre-to post IPO hope of rags-to-riches fortunes being made, that’s not the only reason. Start-ups are cool, they usually come with free food, no dress codes and a bunch of dogs. In honor of Independence Day, imagine what you would do if you could do anything to free your culture from its current state and make it impossible to leave.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Embrace the agility of the new way of work. No longer are you restrained to office meetings on 5th Avenue, you can have a pop-up office in Houston. Build an infrastructure to support less traditional work arrangements and consider the resources you’ll need to train and support people as they become part of a virtual team. (Bonus: Your candidate pool also increases dramatically when you’re able to look outside of a commutable distance.)
With the standardization of open office plans in startups, the CEO and other top-ranking officials became accessible, so break down your walls. As traditional workplace shifts to align with the younger generations’ expectations, we’re seeing more shared office spaces, and open space plans.
Stay connected- embrace open dialogue – between all levels of employees, top down and bottom up, across departments, and across locations. Incorporate regular opportunities for discussion through feedback, group get-togethers, and team building exercises that really get people excited (who doesn’t feel closer after a 5-mile hike or spending a morning at a food shelter?)
Years ago, when word first started to spread of a magical place where you could play ping pong at work and enjoy flexible vacation days, legacy enterprises scoffed. They chalked it up as entitled millennials expecting work to be fun. Even perks like working-from-home and Bagel Mondays seemed over-the-top.
Fast forward to 2018: companies such as Google, Apple and Facebook are global employers of choice, drawing in millions of applications a year, enjoying the privilege of being more selective than Ivy League colleges, and setting the gold standard for employee engagement worldwide. Meanwhile, legacy brands are scurrying to compete.
Don’t be caught off guard by the workplace of the future. Play the start-up game today and dial-up your cultural sticky factors to guard against talent bankruptcy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
