Profits, funding, structure, marketing, expansion…these are perhaps some of the most sought after elements of business success that most C-level executives crave and typically tend to focus on…and it makes sense. Where does employee engagement and empowerment fit? One of the most critical ingredients is perhaps also the most overlooked and underestimated need – hiring the right talent for the organization and building a great team to start with.
High performing organizations, fast growth companies and most startups are realizing that bringing the right people on board is a top priority and that talent is the key to a venture’s ultimate direction and growth. They also realize that by encouraging employee engagement, companies are more likely to get employees motivated. When employees are motivated, they play an important role in the company’s success and can also help in bringing great talent to the company via employee referrals.
One company, Valve, serves as a good example as they reveal how acquiring the best is ideal for everyone involved and how employee engagement and empowerment play an important role. An employee handbook from Valve was recently released, which details the company’s linear hierarchical structure and employee benefits among other things, featuring a diagram of how everything else revolves, or is subordinate to, “finding great people and keeping the bar high.”
Treating employees as key players who contribute in important decision-making, produces employee engagement and loyalty – two qualities that will survive any failures or financial setbacks. These can help a company back up in tough times. ”This company is yours to steer,” Valve’s guidebook reads. “Toward opportunities and away from risks. You have the power to greenlight projects. You have the power to ship products.” Valve shares that its gone out of its way to recruit intelligent, innovative and talented people and recognizes their purpose. Valve accomplishes this via employee engagement. The company empowers and trusts its talent with high levels of autonomy, providing staff with the ability to not only influence hiring decisions via employee referrals and participation in the process, but also working together without a rigid structure to achieve company goals. Consider this: the more involved employees feel to the mission, the more accountable they feel to its success.
Valve is able to find and recruit top talent on their own and efficiently, but here is how your startup can do exactly the same:
The “best” talent should be the center of a company’s universe. When good people are present and empowered, everything else falls into place.
What do you think? Talent is the most successful factor for business? How do you use employee engagement to improve your talent acquisition?