Every company aims to hire and keep the best talent in their market. It’s a challenging job to find and manage the right people who can fit into your business while also delivering results that align with the company’s strategy, direction, and vision. Retention and turnover are crucial issues that SMB organizations must handle carefully. While large companies also feel the effects of staff changes, the impact on smaller firms is much closer to their financial health. A small company can suffer greatly if it brings on the wrong hires, both from wasted costs and lost productivity when underperformers exit or when good employees leave. Therefore, focusing on recruiting and retaining your top talent starts with understanding the traits and characteristics of the employees who are currently thriving in your organization.
We participate in various hiring processes for our clients, either by offering advice or helping select key leadership roles. Over time, we’ve noticed that certain personality types thrive in small business settings, adjusting to growth and becoming part of the company’s vision and culture. Some employees are just there for the paycheck and do only what’s necessary to get by. Others struggle in a small business because they haven’t experienced the responsibilities that come with being a big fish in a small pond.
Some time ago, we crafted a diagram to clarify characteristics of new recruits and how they are visualized as employees once they are on board. By assessing the potential of how a new employee will contribute to a business, we can quickly ascertain whether or not this person is really someone who can produce and fit well into the company. Here is how we see it:
The Mission Employee
Many SMB companies need people to deliver a vision in the same fashion that leadership strives for. When the buck stops at the top executive, sustainability of growth and company expansion is limited. For companies to successfully multiply and expand, there has to be a divide and conquer strategy. In most professional services businesses, this vision can only be realized when other leaders naturally emerge. For these leaders to emerge, they need to be on a mission to carry through the vision of the organization in all that they do. Not every company is ready for these types of people, but when your organization is ready to rise to the occasion, these individuals will help wave your flag in both their business and personal lives.
The Career Employee
Some of the highly focused “career” minded employees will be of high value to your company. But the question of whether or not they transform into a company vision follower or a self-focused career enthusiast is yet to be determined. Every company needs people on a career path that is in line with the strategy of a business. There is high value in plotting career growth and personal development plans with your people. However, in the SMB space, the higher you go, the fewer spots there are to occupy. At some point, the “career” individual will assess their personal situation and leave because of actual or perceived growth ceilings, or will demand a raise/promotion/etc. to keep their personal goals on track. There is nothing wrong with employees being eager about wanting business growth and maturity; you just need to understand where these people fall on the overall spectrum of the corporate org chart.
Job Employee
Every company needs employees that view their role as a “job”. If these employees are good at what they do, are uniquely skilled, perform at an acceptable level, they could be at a company for many years. When we start looking at roles that require a higher level of contribution and are tightly aligned with metrics around revenue, profit or customer care, then the individual that just views their role as a “job” may be in the wrong place. Higher levels of accountability fall in line with the personal vision of their contribution level. It’s rare to find a person that is successful in a sales capacity if they only see their role as a “job”. These individuals end up as below average performers and usually turn over once their evaluation and employee reviews reflect marginal performance.
Again, for SMB organizations, there is rarely a place to hide. Overall success is highly dependent on synchronization of the employee’s corporate value paired with their own personal vision of success and contribution. If either of these balances is off, then there needs to be a realignment of expectations or a job function change. Unfortunately for most SMB companies, the variety of roles to choose from is rather limited; thus, making sure the match is clear before the person is hired is essential.
If you would like to learn specifics regarding our philosophy on this topic, shoot us a note and we’ll be happy to provide an additional point of view.