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The statistics are alarming:
For so many, the pandemic has been like people who survived a near-death experience. It has caused employees to reevaluate their professional careers, not only what they want, but also what they aren’t willing to tolerate anymore. This professional awakening has caught a lot of leaders and companies flat-footed. However, too many leaders are using The Great Resignation Era as a crutch. A significant percentage of people who have quit over the last 15 months is a result of poor company culture, where leaders are solely focused on productivity and bottom-line profits.
I have seen first-hand, companies with the strongest company culture, long before the pandemic, are significantly less affected by the so-called labor shortage. And the organizations that churned and burned their team members, where a great workplace culture was only lip service, are the ones being hit the hardest by the employee turnover.
You can’t hire your way out of a bad culture.
Too many companies are trying to solve this staff shortage issue by hiring people as fast as they can just to fill positions and keeping employees with bad attitudes. Both are huge mistakes. “A” players hate working with “B & C” players. Unengaged employees are like squatters taking up space and sucking the energy out of your organization.
The #1 priority for businesses today needs to be focusing on keeping their top talent by improving their internal culture. Stop trying to find great employees, instead focus on becoming the type of business great employees find.
Days of lighting fires under people are over. Days of lighting fires inside people are here.