How to Identify The Core Character of Your Business
Let's continue our talk about how to develop a really great team. In our previous two videos, we talked about how important it is that YOU are the right person and that you have the prerequisites to good leadership and good management. Now we'll move on and talk about making sure that you've got the right people on board. You've probably heard it said that "people are the most important resource in any business." Not true. It's close though. The RIGHT people are the most important resource in most businesses. The right people, not just people.
The Right People
Why do I say that? When we think about making sure that we have the right people on board, let's think back to that statistic I shared with you before. 89% of people get fired for a lack of attitude, values or character. On average, only 11% get fired for a lack of skills. Think about that. In the process of interviewing, do you spend 89% of your interview really focusing in on attitude, character and values? Or, do you spend a lot of time making sure that they've got the skills to do the job? Most of the time, someone will get fired for lack of fitting into your culture. Culture is so important. Another interesting statistic is that in most businesses, 30% of the employees are actively engaged and excited about what they're doing. They are your "A Team". 20% of your employees are working against you. They're the drama kings and queens of the business, the cancers, the difficulty. They are pulling the morale down of the organization. They are the ones that are really hurting you. The remaining 50% are really there to punch the clock, collect their paycheck and go home. These people are okay, but they're really not excited about what they are doing and they are not helping you to succeed in your business.
The List
We would like to get to a place where 80% of the people in our business are those who care about what we we're doing. Our "A Team", if you will. We want only 20% to be the clock punchers and paycheck collectors, and none of the drama-filled morale killers. The only way this is going to happen is for us to be very purposeful in our hiring and in whom we retain in our business and who we fire. We need to create a culture within our organization that reflects our attitudes, character and values. The best way to do that is to think about who the best people on your team are. Write down some notes about their values, their character and their attitudes. What are the things that make them special? These characteristics should be exemplified in you as well, by the way. This list going to be very important for your business.
Whittle It Down
Once we've got that list created, we're going to cross some of the items out. The first pass through, we're going to look for what I call "aspirational values." These are the values that we'd really like to have, but we just don't have them right now. These are the things we'd like to like to have in the future. What we're looking for here is what your culture is today. The second thing we'll do is look for baseline values, the certain values that anyone needs to get in the door. You might have integrity on your list as in, "You can't work here unless you have real integrity." That is fine, but this is also true of your competitors and the other companies down the street. That is just a baseline value to get the interview and to try to get the job. What we're looking for when we set these values are the values that set you apart. The values that differentiate you from you from your competition. What is special about you? When you're hiring people, you want them to be attracted to your business and want to be a part of your culture. The people who don't have the values, character and attitude that shape your culture will deselect themselves. They simply won't continue seeking out a job with you and that is what you want. Something that differentiates you and sets you apart. You need to purposefully set the values that differentiate you and nurture that within your organization. Look for it, praise it, reward it, and build that character. At the end of the day, we want three to seven values, character traits or attitudes that really set us apart. Go through your list and get rid of the aspirational values and the baseline values so you can focus in on the values that really set you apart. Start using these three to seven items when you are interviewing, hiring people, rewarding and promoting people within your business. Find and keep the people who fit within the core character of your business, and move people out who don't. By doing this, you'll protect your culture and make your business something special that can continue to grow and serve your customers well. Take these steps today to purposefully start doing that. Thank you for watching this video. Check out my other videos so that you can find out other breakthrough solutions for your business. And if you like this video, please click on the subscribe link. Thanks!
Finding the right employees that fit with the culture and character of your business isn't easy.