Do You Attract Stakeholders or Employees?

Every business wants to attract and retain top talent.

Easier said than done.

Traditional Methods

Times have changed and the ways that companies find and keep their desired workers are much more efficient - or at least they are supposed to be.

Job Boards

There are a plenty of places to post job openings nowadays. For example:

• Right here on LinkedIn
• Career Builder
• ZipRecruiter
• Jobvertise
• Monster
• Flexjobs
• Indeed

Each of these has their own unique way of advertising your position(s) and stakes claim to some astronomical amount of people reached.

There are different ways of qualifying candidates, AI tools for assistance, real time communications, and plenty of alerts to keep you alert of what's going on with your listing(s).

Incentives

Here are some traditional ways to retain (and attract too) people:

• Technology and Equipment
• Physical Wellness Programs
• Mental Wellness Programs
• Retirement Contributions
• Conferences/Gatherings
• Work From Home
• Financial Bonuses
• Health Insurance
• Flexible Hours
• Life Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Education
• Travel
• Food

These are all nice benefits and can be a great reason to stay at (or join) a company but they don't give people a vested interest. While it's not a requirement for worthwhile employment to be long term, many companies are hoping to hold this type of relationship with their people.

What if you want people to join your organization with long term intentions and a shared mission?

Seeking Stakeholders

Traditional methods seek to qualify candidates to do a specific job. Then, it's a competition with every other firm in their industry to recruit the most qualified people with all the incentives they can offer.

I know people who've been recruited with a huge signing bonus to another organization only to return and beg back into their old company.

The money isn't everything.

Stakeholders are people with a vested interest. They care about the performance of the company as whole.

The most common way to attract these people are by offering equity-based compensation. In other words, giving them ownership in the company. This is not possible for all roles, and it may not even be your decision to offer it as you read this. Yet, it's still something to consider if an option.

Equity Compensation is NOT the only way to make someone a stakeholder.        

Defining the Role

You have to define the person in order to attract your perfect stakeholder. Think of things other than raw skills, such as:

• Requirement for Success
• Desire to Collaborate
• Focus on Fulfillment
• Mission Orientation
• Propensity to Share
• Belief in Capability
• Interest in Impact
• Ability to Decide

Many of these things are marks of a good leader. The idea is that people want to have a vested interest in something. It is important to them that their work is meaningful beyond just the paycheck.

Asking the Right Questions

You can't be sure anyone will enjoy a role without knowing their perspective. Here are some good questions to ask when determining if someone wants to be a stakeholder in your company:

• Where do you find the most fulfilment?
• Why do you want to apply your abilities here?
• What do you know about our typical customers?
• When do you see yourself in a different role than this one?
• What is the most interesting thing about our company to you?
• How do you see your abilities changing the way we do business?
• Who do you know that displays unwavering support to a specific cause?

Employees are willing to "put up" with their job for a paycheck.

You can create the best incentive system in the world, but the moment people find a way to collect the same or better paycheck and benefits, they'll be scouring the job boards.

So, let me know ??

Are you attracting employees or stakeholders?

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