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While every founder dreams of building a company where the most talented professionals in their field want to work, it takes more than a vision to achieve that goal.
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15 Strategies to Transform Your Startup into a Highly Desirable Place to Work
Every startup founder dreams of building an incredible company where the most talented professionals in their field want to work. Of course, it takes more than simply envisioning it to achieve that end goal. Creating a workplace environment and culture that attracts and retains top talent takes a great deal of strategic planning and thoughtful, deliberate effort. What does it take to become an employer of choice? From demonstrating strong leadership to setting clear expectations and making a commitment to employee well-being, many pieces are involved in building an inviting, supportive, and thriving workplace. Below, Forbes Coaches Council members explore 15 practical strategies to help a startup transform from a new promising employer into a highly desirable place to work.
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Treat Employees As Assets
Peter Boolkah, The Transition Guy: Creating a culture of trust and transparency is paramount. Founders should prioritize clear communication, recognize and reward effort, and promote work-life balance. Providing opportunities for professional development and fostering an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are valued can also significantly impact recruitment. Ultimately, treating employees as invaluable assets will attract top talent.
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Take A People-Centric Approach
Barbara Anne Gardenhire-Mills, Purpose-Filled Solutions & Evolutions: Use a people-centric approach that allows both employees and the founder to be their whole selves, have room to fail, learn from their mistakes and be authentic. Creating a place where everyone wants to work is an unattainable goal. Creating a place where those who join the company want to stay is more realistic.
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Exercise Good Values
Laurie Sudbrink, Lead With GRIT: Everyone wants to work at a place where good values are exercised. Make sure there is mutual respect and that people are valued based on their character and accomplishments. Encourage communication and healthy conflict so that people connect authentically and engage in meaningful discourse that results in better understanding, more creativity, and sustainable results. Do this, and you’ll attract and retain the best!
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Empower Employees With Autonomy
Curtis Odom, Prescient Strategists: Cultivate a positive and engaging company culture, trusting employees with responsibility and giving them the autonomy to make decisions. Empowered employees feel more valued and are more likely to be innovative and productive, leading to an environment where employees feel motivated, valued, and eager to contribute.
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Clarify Roles And Responsibilities
Julie Kantor, PhD, Julie Kantor Consulting: Create an organizational structure that aligns with the company’s value proposition, and in conjunction with the human resources and/or leadership team, clarify roles and responsibilities for each employee. It is easy for startups to have a loose structure without a clear definition of each role. Employees can flourish if they are clear about what their role is within the organization and what is expected of them.
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Find People Who Share Core Values
Antonio Garrido, My Daily Leadership: Founders shouldn’t try to create a place where “everyone wants to work”—it’s an unrealistic aspiration. They should be 100% clear on what the core values of the business are and then find people who firmly believe the same things. When everyone in the business shares the same core values, it naturally and automatically becomes the place where they all want to work.
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Lead By Example To Foster Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion
Mark Antoine, Inspired Keynotes: If you do not have a strong DEI program, or even vision, how can you create an environment where employees feel valued, heard, and supported? You are hiring them to be fully human resources, and they will be when you encourage open communication and transparency and create a sense of community by leading by example. Words matter as much as new hires.
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Focus On Your Own Personal Growth
Meridith Alexander, G.R.I.T. Mindset Academy: Success starts at the top, so it’s important that founders remember to work on their own personal growth. You’ll find that just because you’ve grown a successful company, not all of your personal qualities will allow you to grow a company where teams love to work. Invest in personal growth and leadership training for you and your executives. Then you’ll be ready to create a culture and a company that everyone loves.
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Be Passionate And Love What You Do
Kinga Vajda, Execute Your Intentions, LLC: Ensure alignment around your values, philosophies, and nonnegotiables. Be open, clear, kind, and available. Simplify, document, and single-source information as needed. Offer resources, genuine open dialog, feedback loops, and reporting transparency at regular cadences. Be involved in a curious way; lead with trust and guidance. Brainstorm together.
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Express Your Vision
Mark Samuel, IMPAQ Corporation: A CEO must provide an inspired vision and cultural values that inspire people at every level of the organization. The CEO must also hire accountable leaders who represent the vision and culture in how they execute operational excellence and grow talent. The CEO must be the champion for all accomplishments associated with business success and cultural alignment, ensuring the vision is being achieved.
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Align Meaningful Work With Employees’ Values
Nikhil Chadha, Mindwize: A founder should cultivate a positive, inclusive company culture. Prioritizing employee well-being and mental health, offering growth opportunities, and recognizing achievements are all key. Communicating transparently and fostering a collaborative environment are also crucial. At our organization, we ensure these practices by aligning meaningful work with employees’ values to attract and retain top talent.
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Let People Do What You Hired Them To Do
Jay Steven Levin, WinThinking: Hire competent, confident, and committed people. Get out of their way. Show them how to earn more autonomy, and they will prove their responsibility. Understand what quality contribution means to them and what it will mean for them to produce it. Then, ensure they have the resources they need to reach the success they are capable of achieving. In short, let them do what you hired them to do.
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Provide Choice, Flexibility, And Freedom
David Kubes, Access Consciousness Leadership: Give people choice, flexibility, freedom, and systems they require to perform their best. Creativity means no office hours for some, but others require a certain structure to feel comfortable. People are as diverse as nature. Allow everyone to choose what works for them, and acknowledge that there is no “right” way to be—there is “their way,” and this is what should be honored and respected.
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Make It Fun
David Yudis, Potential Selves: This applies to all companies, whether they’re technical, serious and conservative or creative, flexible and progressive: In the beginning, all throughout the work day and when returning to one’s home space, an enjoyable culture amplifies discretionary engagement. That’s what inspires people to give more to their work and to the company—not because of the compensation they receive, but by choice.
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Show Empathy And Respect
Jay Garcia, Jay Garcia Group: Build an inclusive company culture by treating employees with empathy and respect, encouraging transparent communication and providing growth opportunities. Offer flexible work conditions, regularly recognize contributions, and promote diversity. This positive environment attracts and retains top talent, making your company a place where people want to work.