In my 30 years of working in human resources, I have never met an employee that I wanted to keep, develop, promote, etc. that did not want to BELONG to something good.
What I mean by “something good” is an organization that does good things for its associates, its customers and its community. Back in the day we called it creating brand pride. I contend that the reputation that your organization has within the community — both “physical” community and “social networking” community — is the key to creating that culture where people want to work, stay and thrive. Stores recruit within the immediate community. Therefore, your reputation needs to be strong within that community.
That’s an easy statement to make, and I doubt it is one with which many would disagree. If you agree that brand pride is of urgency to having a great workforce, I challenge you to have a meeting with your key stakeholders and talk about “what makes your brand good” as referenced above. If your list is short, it’s introspection time. Do better! Talk to your folks in the field. Understand their needs (and desires). Then expand your offering.
Creating Your Culture
Start with meeting employees’ basic needs. Are your pay and benefits strong enough to make you competitive in your market? (They don’t have to be the best, but they do have to be good.) If they are not, you don’t have a fighting chance, as our industry acknowledges that we need to attract and retain career-oriented people. If an employee can’t make rent and put food on the table, do you really expect them to be able to focus on delivering excellent service to your customers?
After basic needs, look at your “perks” and incentive programs. More introspective questions should focus around having a plethora of perks for your people, keeping in mind that if you have 1,000 employees, you have 1,000 different sets of wants and needs. Some of the more popular perks being contemplated right now include on-demand pay options, education options (subsidized by the company), and even pet insurance and/or pet bereavement. Recognition for longevity and for going above and beyond are also very important to employees. Do you have formal recognition programs? Are you publicly and socially celebrating your employees’ milestones and good deeds?
Promote your internal brand to your employees in many of the same ways you promote your external brand to your customers. We certainly like to advertise our specials to our customers. But are we advertising those who are special to us to the public? Blasting your social media with photos and stories about the great work your employees are doing could be the most important thing you do to build your culture. When your community and your customers see these posts, it builds their “brand pride” too.
Go get busy — it’s cultural introspection time in 2024.
Steve Seymour is the director of personnel, training and development for Country Fair Inc. and is the author of the book “100 Ideas to Improve the Workplace, An HR Nerd’s Guide to Creating Excellent Culture.” The book is available on Amazon, and all proceeds from the book are donated to the National Foundation for Transplants in honor of a family that is very close to his heart. You can find Seymour at linkedin.com/in/steve-seymour-9347709/ or [email protected].