Define your job
You and your HR team can find the best talent, and find it in the form of people who align with your mission and values. But you won’t be able to leverage any of that until you have set the standards and example from the top of the organization and continuously reinforce it with help from your management team.
The talent and engagement of your employees will power your company’s growth, both from a business and a cultural standpoint. But you provide the direction and the rule book from your perch.
“You say, ‘What is important and what do we value from a business and community standpoint?’” Pasky says. “There are universal things that all cultures need. They have to have ethics, and they have to recognize the importance of caring for people. And that ‘care’ word doesn’t often get put in the same sentence as ‘business.’”
It’s not something that can be communicated with a one-time speech. You need to use all of the communication avenues available to you to keep your employees focused, so you can best leverage the talent, skill and enthusiasm that you and your HR staff worked so hard to identify and cultivate.
“If it all doesn’t start with me, if I let it start with middle management, it just won’t work,” Pasky says. “The CEO has to say, ‘This is how the company is going to function,’ and my expectation is that my leadership team carries that with them everywhere. If employees know that the culture starts at the top of the company, they’re going to have more confidence going to the top with their comments and ideas. They’ll have more confidence approaching you if they think something is being missed somewhere along the line.
“If you have a consistent message along those lines, it’s easier to replicate in different venues. If you don’t have a consistent message or don’t roll it out throughout the company, it might become difficult to use all of your forms of communication to keep everyone connected.”
How to reach: Strategic Staffing Solutions, (888) 738-3261 or www.strategicstaff.com
