Unpacking the New Standard of Excellence at Work - Gregory Offner
For a long time now, the holy grail of HR has been the ability to boast:
“We’re one of the ‘Best Places to Work”
But, what does that really say about a company?
We Won!
It’s important to recognize the work required to create an environment that few people want to leave.
Being a “Best Place to Work” is a nice recognition of that effort.
But what does it say about the actual professional culture? Are their people actually engaged with, and good at, their job?
Or do they just like the comfy couches, flex time and Friday happy hours?
What speaks volumes about an organization's culture, and the capabilities of its people, is whether or not recruiters and competitors are ‘salivating’ over the chance to interview your people.
If your organization isn’t creating “Poach-worthy People” you’re missing a huge opportunity to create something truly remarkable; and reap the profits in the process.
The Best of The Best
What if simply seeing your company’s name on a resume was enough to make a recruiter say: “Bring that person in for an interview — anybody who worked there is a rockstar!”
What if, instead of striving to be the “Best Place to Work” we sought to become the “Best Place to Be From”?
Say what you will about Colleges and Universities, they do at least one thing right when it comes to hiring.
They keep their best students, and bring them on as faculty.
Adam Grant did his undergraduate work at Harvard University; which is where he took his first University job.
Brené Brown still works for both her Alma Maters (University of Houston, and University of Texas - Austin) in addition to being one of the most sought after experts on Shame and Vulnerability on the planet.
So how could this work for your organization?
Poach-worthy, Not Poachable
Your mission is to develop the kind of people who everybody WANTS to steal, but can’t. That’s the difference between poachable, and poach-worthy.
Lots of organizations have poachable people. They’re polished, successful, and totally disenchanted with their current employer.
But poach-worthy people are different.
They have those first two attributes — polished and successful — of course; but what creates the difference is that poachworthy people don’t want to leave.
This is because they work in a culture of continuous personal and professional development.
They’re not just encouraged to become a better employee, they’re empowered to become better. Because better people are better for business.
And better businesses are better for all of us.
“But Greg” (you might say) “you’re just describing the ‘Best Place to Work’ and calling it something different!”
And while that’s a tempting connection to make, one is about the company while the other is about its people.
The Performance Agreement
If you’re wondering how to start creating poach-worthy people, you want to take a look at your organizations Performance Agreement.
The Performance Agreement is a document that lays out exactly what the organization will do for its people, and what the people will do for the organization.
Simply put, a Performance Agreement starts with the premise that the company will place its focus on building better people, and in return its people will focus on delivering impact; not just collecting an income. Then lays out steps to do just that, and how to hold each other accountable.
— Gregory Offner | Disruption & Leadership
