As the talent war heats up, companies across America are trying to figure out how to paint themselves as a best place to work. Some small business might envy the tech giants who seem to have great candidates falling in their laps, but the truth is you don’t have to be Google or Facebook to have an awesome work environment. While salaries and benefits packages will undoubtedly play a role in the type of talent your company can attract—we know from experience that it’s about people not perks.
Successful business owners and leaders know; the success of an organization depends on the people who work there. To stay competitive, employers have to be more focused than ever on attracting and retaining top talent. Becoming recognized as a Best Place to Work is one way to attract top talent and being a Best Place to Work is a way to retain that talent.
Knowing that people are a company’s most valuable asset, it is no surprise to me that entreQuest is now a two-time winner of Baltimore Business Journal’s Best Place to Work award and a finalist again this year (winners will be announced in October).
Wait… this blog is not about me or the entreQuest team winning these awards, it’s about the fact that we truly understand what it means to be a Best Place to Work and how to achieve it (over and over).
Don’t get me wrong—I’m happy to have won the award the past two years and I’m confident and hopeful that we’ll win again this year, but above all, I’m proud of my team.
When surveyed about why they like working for entreQuest, 90 percent of our team said that it was because of our team and our clients. To them it’s not about compensation, the number of vacation days, swanky office space, or perks like free Starbucks—it’s about PEOPLE.
So, how do you do it? Here are 4 ways you can become a Best Place to Work:
1. Hire the RIGHT people: Understand your culture, understand the skills and attributes necessary for the role, and hire for all three.
2. Have a kick butt on-boarding process: Allow new employees to feel welcome and provide clear expectations, immediately.
3. Provide professional development: Understand the needs and desires of your team and provide development programs designed to fill gaps and propel employees to success.
4. Give back: Dedicate team time to meaningful activity within the community. Coordinating a day or two each year when employees can volunteer together—perhaps to build a Habitat for Humanity house or serve lunch at a homeless shelter—not only help those in need, but also boost morale and camaraderie among your team.
Again, our experience, both at entreQuest and with our clients is that perks are great. But, they're just icing. The cake is the people and the culture.
In order to build a stronger, more successful organization, you must start with the people: the current talent, as well as the talent a company hopes to attract, hire, and retain over its lifetime.
