The Real Reason Business Leaders Are Losing Sleep at Night

Our friends at Ph.Creative ?believe there is one prevailing thing that should be keeping business leaders up at night: People. Here's why.

Author:? Bryan Adams , CEO of PH.Creative

World events have created a seismic shift in our everyday lives – a global pandemic, war, economic uncertainty, and the ever-changing concept of what ‘normal’ is. For business leaders, the list also includes stressors like meeting targets, product development, cash flow, fundraising, and so much more.?

But after working with many of the largest global brands in the world, I believe there is one prevailing thing that should be keeping business leaders up at night.

People.?

For companies, the people we hire are both an anchor of stability and the only true competitive advantage. Your reputation as an employer, the proposition you present, and the experience of your people all play a role in how you attract, retain, and align your talent to drive your organization forward and win. This is why a motivated workforce, aligned with the values and purpose of your organization, is worth its weight in gold.

Attracting and retaining the talent needed to reach your objectives is the frontline for businesses right now. Reducing staff turnover should be your number one objective.

The Society for Human Resource Management reports that, on average, it costs a company 6-9 months of an employee's salary to replace them – and is strategically disruptive.?

But the wants and needs of employees have changed post-pandemic, and leaders are still trying to discover a reliable formula for resilience and growth. The fact is that when people are faced with the level of change that we have seen over the past few years, they reflect and review what matters most to them. And in doing so, it raises questions about their purpose and priorities. According to CareerArc, 84% of job seekers say that the reputation of a company as an employer is important when deciding where to apply for a job. It’s no longer just about the salary.

And that creates a great opportunity for every business and CEO to lean into their core brand values and craft a true and compelling narrative that will speak to the right people on such a deep level that they believe they have found their dream job.

If you can honestly articulate what it feels like to work at your company, what an employee is expected to give, and what they will get back in return, you will attract and retain people aligned with the purpose, culture, and objectives of your organization.?

However, getting to that truth isn’t easy. That’s why what we call an Employer Brand Strategy is an absolute must. No business should rely on its consumer brand reputation to attract and retain the best people. The values reflected in that brand are not intended to reveal the true experience of working at an organization. Developing an impactful Employer Brand is vital for attracting the right talent.

By creating an Employer Brand that tells the truth about your company — highlighting the positives while being open and honest about what is needed to thrive on the team — you will start to attract people who are right for the role and reduce staff turnover.

It also means that most job-seekers who read your Employer Brand will walk away without applying. Repel the many, compel the few, we say. Better that they walk away at this stage rather than three months into the role, leading to an unnecessary and expensive re-hiring process.?

But the process of constructing an Employer Brand isn’t simply about writing down your values or mission statement. It requires an exhaustive and managed research process at all levels of the company to distill your truth into a story that connects with both head and heart.

As an example, when trying to discover why people stayed at a particular airline we were working with and how they found value and meaning in the work they do, one engineer told us this story:

“We didn't have electricity growing up. We had a horse and cart. And in one generation, my son has just graduated from Harvard. In this career, I have unlimited travel anywhere in the world. So, when my son was studying Roman history, I stood him in the middle of the Coliseum. When he was learning about Mount Everest, we trekked in the Himalayas. Experiencing that rich and vibrant diversity of culture made him the man he is today. And that's all down to the privilege of working here.”

Following that anecdote, the floodgates opened. Others chimed in with personal stories about what working at the airline meant to them, leading us to craft what we call our “Give and Get” proposition.

Simply put, the “Give and Get” methodology is a formula that perfectly balances the input and the output – what it is you must sacrifice and commit to within an employee experience. It prompts the jobseeker to ask: “Is this a place that I want to invest my time in or not?”

It’s both a challenge and an opportunity that people are complicated and diverse – and while purpose, impact, and belonging look different to each potential employee, those things are important to everyone. As a business leader operating in a world of continual flux, control what you can by recruiting and retaining people aligned with your mission and best suited to help your company get where it needs to be.

Bryan Adams , CEO of Ph.Creative and author of Give & Get, wants to know what your People Challenge is. Click here to register your interest to attend an exclusive virtual roundtable event tailored to deliver strategies for success for your unique challenge.