You have to be a high-performing team to attract and retain talent, Steve Heck, senior executive partner at Gartner, said at the annual conference. Digital Transformation Conference & Awards hosted by IT World Canada,
“Success is magnetic – people want to be around successful people because they want to be successful themselves.” And, organizations need to use success to their advantage, especially in the increasingly competitive search for talent.
Success, Heck explained, is a high-performing team, with higher levels of productivity, creativity, and greater resilience.
More practically, high performance is a team sport – people are building off each other’s skills, you don’t have people trying to belittle others’ achievements for personal gain, communication is natural and fluid, all The roles are somewhat related, and everyone focuses on aspirational goals.
Culture is also an important factor, he added. These are the behavioral norms, the unwritten rules that shape how you see yourself at work, how you behave and how it aligns with your team.
“You cannot define culture and impose it on your people. You have to explain it and welcome those who want to be a part of it.
According to Heck, there are five dimensions of culture that can result in more practical results:
- Purpose – why are we doing what we are doing and what does it mean?
- Rituals – These are the things you do regularly, because it’s a part of who you are.
- Identity – How does your organization see you? What are you known for or proud of?
- Support – How can you support each other’s achievements and weaknesses?
- Merit – Rewards and recognition for your and your peers’ achievements
But organizations can take these a step further and write down, describe or discuss with a team what behavior and success look like in each of the cultural priorities, and assess whether they are happening. .
In addition, organizations should focus on prioritizing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Heck believes, it means “welcoming the whole person into the organization and not just the bits and pieces, and building deep relationships with them.”
Heck said the pandemic has made talent search more competitive, but it has also forced us to make the work environment more human-centred to give employees a sense of autonomy and agency.
He recommended that employers assess what performance looks like in their organizations, what achievement and true success look like, and set benchmarks accordingly.
They also need to evaluate whether the current team is capable of achieving that high performance, and whether managers are equipped to create and run such an environment.
Heck also pointed out that, when hiring, rather than simply assuming that the person wants the job, and that they need to know the organization’s brand and fit the job description, employers should be able to portray that impression. What future workers need to do is position themselves and how they can make the world better by doing the things they are passionate about.
“If they believe you can help them reach their potential, make them more marketable, then they will want to invest their time with you, in your organization,” Heck explained. “And you know what, maybe they won’t leave.”
