Strawberry Fields Are Forever. What About Celery?

Those of you who have been following my work know that my husband Ron and I packed up the dog and headed south for the winter. 

Sunshine, warmth, and small numbers of tourists. That’s what I call a win, win, win.

This morning’s adventure found us at a place called Celery Fields.

I don’t think the classic Beatles song would have had nearly the same impact if they called it Celery Fields Forever!

In the 1920s, the fields were used for growing celery crops. 

The County of Sarasota recognized the importance of the Celery Fields as a food and habitat source to a wide variety of birds and other wildlife and worked with Sarasota Audubon to restore 100+ acres into a more traditional wetland. 

Wetlands require a TON of maintenance to keep them healthy and attractive locations for birds and other wildlife.

The County of Sarasota knew they couldn’t do it independently, so they brought in the experts.

You probably know where I’m going with this…

Your company requires that same sort of love, attention, and ongoing maintenance if you want to attract and retain talent in a post-pandemic world.

This is one of the top areas of focus for my clients. If you want to create Evergreen Talent?, you need to seed and cultivate your workforce continuously. 

As the Covid-19 vaccine is rolled out across the country, we’re already seeing a big rise in consumer confidence. 

The boom is coming.

Is your business ready for the influx of customers that will be coming your way?

If you’re thinking to yourself: 

“I’ll just pull the talent plan we developed in 2019 off the shelf, and we should be good to go,”

Then you are in for one heck of a surprise. 

No talent plan written before the pandemic is worth the paper it was printed on. 

You need a new strategic talent plan, and you need it fast! I was going to say Operation Warp Speed, but that’s taken.

Look, you can certainly try putting together this plan on your own. 

Or, you can get the help you need.

If you could have done it yourself, you would have done it already. 

But I always want my audience to get immense value from my weekly newsletters, so here are some key questions to consider as you begin building your post-pandemic talent plan.

1. What positions do I need to fill to fully participate in the recovery? 
2. How soon do I need to get these people on board?
3. Are there people in my organization who I can promote to fill these roles or do I need to hire from the outside?
4. How will I attract external candidates?
5. Is our employment brand (your reputation as a place to work) in need of a refresh?
6. What type of training will I need to have in place to get people up and running quickly?
7. Are there people on the team who are not performing well? If so, what’s my plan to elevate their performance or exit them out of the organization?
8. Do I have the right leadership team on board to navigate these new uncharted waters? If not, what’s my plan to right this ship?
9. Do my leaders need additional development? If so, what’s the best way to support their growth? 
10. Are we losing talented people, and how do we address this problem?

Look, this might feel like a lot of questions, but they’re the questions you need to be thinking about (and you’re most likely not!)

The wetlands would not have stayed as wet or healthy as they have without continuous help.

What makes you think your celery fields are forever?

Your assignment this week: Check in with your HR team to see if they’ve started working on your Post-Covid strategic talent plan. Are they digging deep enough and having tough conversations with the leadership team to ensure your plan is exactly what you need? If you need my help, feel free to schedule a call with me.

P.S, Last week I wrote about Tom Brady and the Age Old Question of Ageism. Brady and Tampa Bay's Super Bowl last night's win against the Chiefs proves once again that age is just a number! Congratulations Tom and the Buccaneers!