3 Minute Read
I have worked in the recruitment industry for 10 years and participated in over a 1000 client meetings with leading mining companies and OEM groups. So I thought I would write this blog as a reflection on my experiences with regard to the importance of leadership and culture in attracting and retaining the best talent. Hope you enjoy the read and take away a few points.
It sounds crazy, and somewhat obvious, but you need the leadership team of any organisation to be comprised of natural leaders who inspire their peers to be the best they can be. The best and most successful leaders I have encountered are the ones which have started from the bottom and shown a great attitude, work ethic, and drive to personally develop themselves. These leaders usually have experience working at every level or rung of a business and subsequently, can leverage off their experiences to improve processes and systems. This in-depth knowledge and familiarity allows leaders to understand all the details of an organisation, from the finer points to the big picture stuff. If you are a natural leader people are drawn to you because they believe in you and your vision. Being a natural leader also means people want to work for you, putting their blood, sweat and tears into their work, consequently promoting trust and loyalty, meaning they are unlikely to jump the fence and work for a competitor.
A common requirement from clients in the hiring process is making sure the candidate fits in with the company culture. Every business has a slightly different culture due to the differing personalities within an organisation, quality of the leadership team, company size, and number of new people hired into a business at a given time. A high performing culture has a massive impact on a company’s potential success through increased productivity and efficiency as well as through people being genuinely happy and motivated to go the extra mile because they care about the business and the role they provide within it. As a result, it is critical to hire the right people who will fit or add to the company culture to protect it as this is pivotal in retaining your best people.
Without leadership and culture, companies cannot attract and retain the best talent in the marketplace. As highlighted above, it’s the leadership and culture of a business which makes it an attractive and desirable place to work. If you have a great leadership team but poor company culture the business will never reach its full potential and hit its business goals. Having a great company culture but a poor leadership team may provide a great place to work for the short term, but as time goes on the best people in an organisation will soon discover that they have no role model to inspire them and aid them in developing their career within the organisation. Attracting the best talent to an organisation is much easier once you understand the beliefs and strategies of the leadership team and possess an insight into the company culture. Once you get the right leaders in place with a great team coupled with a high performing company culture, the sky’s the limit. This will form the best type of branding and marketing for your business and the best talent will hopefully be knocking on your door wanting to work for you!
By Mark Powell, Manager, Stellar Workforce
To read more blog posts by Mark on recruitment, the resource industry, leadership or other topical issues follow him on LinkedIn.