Give Them What They Need
Stop. Take a moment and think about where we are at this moment in time. If you are like me, your thoughts are all over the place. Certainly, the last 18 to 24 months have presented us with unprecedented feelings of angst and even dread as we contemplated myriad issues, such as the murders of George Floyd, Vanesa Guillen, Breona Taylor, Ahmuad Arbery, and many other people of color. We have had to deal with a global pandemic none of us could ever anticipate.
There have also been any number of social, political, financial, educational, and healthcare issues that have turned our world into a different place. And if all of that wasn’t enough, we have and are now dealing with figuring out how to reconnect, reengage, and reimagine our workplace when there is a scarcity of labor.
When you contemplate the human capital implications of all we have and continue to go through, you might wonder what people want. That question is as old as time.
More Than Money
It isn’t unusual to see casual dining establishments offering sign-on bonuses of several thousand dollars for wait staff. That’s amazing and even with that as an incentive, many of those establishments still cannot find the number and/or quality of staff to fill those positions.
So, what do people want? Well, the answer to this is an old one: Compensation and benefits studies have been conducted as a means to gauge worker sentiments since the 1950s. One thing that’s remained true since then is that pure compensation has never been the No. 1 thing people look for in a job. Paying a poor performer more will not make them a better team member.
Many companies believe that by offering to pay more, they will get a higher quality employee, and that simply is not the case—nor is it a sustainable business model. No organization has an infinite supply of resources.
Okay, if money isn’t the No. 1 thing people look for, then what is? Well, let’s get one thing out of the way right now: Every person needs a certain amount of income to address basic needs. Once those areas are addressed, these things, not in priority order, have historically and consistently ranked extremely high in compensation and benefits studies:
- Flexibility. People want to know that their employer sees them as a whole person and not just a cog in a machine. The U.S. has among the lowest amount of time off leave of any developed country.
- A sense of purpose. People want meaningful work and not just “moneyful” work. Each of you has probably held a position that paid you well but offered no satisfaction because the work was mundane. It didn’t create a sense of purpose for you to remain there.
- Autonomy and a learning environment. People want to believe that if given the appropriate resources, they can achieve the goals set for them and the enterprise. They also want to feel they can learn from the environment they are in and from the people around them.
- Corporate social responsibility. More and more people want to be part of organizations that are good stewards for the community. They also want to work for organizations they can be proud of.
- A culture that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion. As we look at new entrants into the workforce, they are repeatedly saying that they want to work for an enterprise that promotes a culture of belonging for all people, and they want to work in an environment that challenges them because they hire high quality people who focus on doing for others.
Applying The Lessons
What these things look like in your firm will look different than they look somewhere else. Each organization is different, even if they operate under the same parent umbrella, because people are different. We need to strive to create authentic environments where we genuinely care about -others—when we do that, we are truly giving the people what they need.
stock.adobe.com / Heidi
