Episode 29 Hiring? What Do “A” Player Employees Want?

 A Boss That Cares 

Is your business hiring? Do you ever wonder what attracts the top talent, or “A” player employees, and what keeps them happy in a role?  

An independent study was conducted by Chic-Fil-A after looking at employee research data and finding that crucial information about the desires of top performers wasn’t properly recorded— there was no data.  

So, they conducted their own study in conjunction with global third-party HR companies. Collecting research on all employees, and then segmenting that data based on performance, the “A” players were defined as people with the top metrics of performance with a minimum of three-year period of consistency.  

After looking at this section of the employee population, there was a single common desire among them. They wanted a boss that demonstrated care.  

They wanted somebody that genuinely cared for them, on a personal and individual level. As a manager or boss yourself, if you’re looking to bring on and keep these “A” players, try to imagine how you can begin to show your workers that you authentically care.  

Recently, I spoke at a college campus to a group of students of entrepreneurship, and we began discussing their various ideas for starting businesses. Many of these concepts were really unique and interesting, but as I was trying to help them understand the basics of business, I wanted to teach them not to be a selfish minded business.  

I asked them what they thought about how a boss should treat their employees. When the students responded, it was heavily influenced by their own personal experiences working for somebody else.  

The common theme was that bosses shouldn’t treat employees like dirt. So many students had stories about how they enjoyed working for a particular company, or they really meshed well with their co-workers, but how they were managed and treated from their boss lead, them to leave to find other roles.  

What I found fascinating, is that this group of students who are proactive and performance oriented enough to study entrepreneurship, and hoping to run businesses of their own soon, held a common desire that matched the results of the independent Chic-Fil-A study.  

The bottom line is when you’re looking to attract top talent and run a successful business where you can truly depend on your team, you can’t be a jerk.  

I know there are countless people within my own community that would love to come work for me at Stewardship.  

At a community level, it’s known that Stewardship is a great place to work because people see that my employees care for each other. When they interact outside of the office, they’re proud to talk about what they do.  

This Week’s Take Away 

Somehow and some way this week, show your employees that you care. If you find that you look at your workers simply as a commodity and are just trying to maximize their profitability for your business by squeezing what you can out of them, re-evaluate your position— because that kind of business strategy isn’t sustainable. In fact, it leads to burnout, high turnover, and attracting the wrong kind of employees that can turn your company into the ground.  

You should be doing something each week and each day as a leader, to show your team that you care about them. Do you have anyone on your team that has been underperforming lately? Or someone who’s developed a bit of an attitude? Or maybe you see them walking into work with their head down?  

Take the opportunity to exhibit care with a simple look in the eye, or buying them lunch, or treating your team to something nice just to show appreciation.  

There are so many different ways to let your team know that you care. Building a working environment that’s founded on authentic and genuine care, is how you attract “A” players.