“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.”
– Maya Angelou
Efficiency (and saving money) is the direct impact of Process Improvement. But in our current job market, we can’t underestimate the indirect impact of Process Improvement; attracting career-minded potential employees to your business.
The next time you start hunting for that elusive employee to help build your business, put your commitment to Process Improvement front and centre.
Differentiate Yourself
Valuable employees know who they are, and they’re shopping you as much as you’re shopping them.
If you publish general ads with no distinguishing features to your business, you’ll attract people looking for a paycheck. If you make your business stand out from the pack, you’ll attract people wanting a career.
Career-minded employees think differently. They want to engage with their employer and derive purpose through making a difference. While others sprint for the door at 5pm, they get the job done. But they won’t waste their energy and talents on a business that can’t fulfill them.
Promoting your team’s engagement in Process Improvement (or Lean) will:
Offer a sense of purpose to candidates, and you’ll be heads up over your competition. Then they can have the candidates who are only after a paycheck.
Make it about more than Money
Your candidates are akin to your customers: they’re evaluating whether or not to invest in you. Ultimately, money plays a big role; you’ll always have a bigger competitor who can offer more.
Change the paradigm. Big paychecks attracts candidates looking for precisely that. Tell candidates that you’ll listen to them, challenge them, and give them opportunities to be part of something larger than their own workstation, and you’ll be offering something that money can’t match.
That being said, there are limits. Valuable employees aren’t greedy, but they want a good standard of living for their families.
Build Word of Mouth
If you’ve been hiring for a while, you know that good people know good people.
Process Improvement only works when you walk the walk—day in and day out. Ask, listen, implement and repeat.
Each small change saves money, but equally important is that each employee-sourced small change makes a big difference in morale. To people who care enough to speak up, seeing their ideas taken seriously and implemented is the greatest reward.
Empower your good people, and they’ll tell other good people. And when hiring time rolls around, you’ve been building a reputation to leverage your way towards an engaged, career-minded team.
The people you want on your side are people who want the same things you do; they want to work smarter, and feel that their work has value. By embracing Process Improvement, you’re sending attractive signals about the work culture you’ve built. Build it into your business, and watch your business build momentum.
