It is one thing to hire a great employee…the difficulty in most organisations is how to keep them happy and productive.

A survey,  The 7 Key Trends Impacting Today’s Workplace, conducted by the employee engagement firm TINYpulse in 2014, involved over 200,000 employees in more than 500 organizations.

“The specific question the survey asked was: “What motivates you to excel and go the extra mile at your organization?” Employees could choose from 10 answers. Interestingly, money – often simply assumed to be the major motivator – was seventh on the list, well back in the pack. The results were as follows:

– Camaraderie, peer motivation (20%)

– Intrinsic desire to a good job (17%)

– Feeling encouraged and recognized (13%)

– Having a real impact (10%)

– Growing professionally (8%)

– Meeting client/customer needs (8%)

– Money and benefits (7%)

– Positive supervisor/senior management (4%)

– Believe in the company/product (4%)

– Other (9%)”

The importance of Leadership

It was important to acknowledge that this survey cut across a wide swath of employees at all organizational levels.

From an organisational point of view the key take away was that without good leadership most of the points raised, particularly the top six would not happen.

To get good Leaders involved also means that the Culture has to be clear and consistent as without it running through the organisation like words through a stick of seaside rock, positive leadership does not happen, and a positive attitude is not nurtured.

Hiring not just for skills

Regarding the overarching importance of camaraderie and culture, the report accompanying the survey noted:

“Given the major role that peers play in motivating each other, it’s up to hiring managers to focus not just on a candidate’s skill but also on his or her cultural fit within the organization. When it comes time to interview a candidate, make sure to see if they:

– Engage in open communication

– Thrive in a collaborative environment

– Handle pressure with grace

– Share praise and accept accountability.”

All the points above cannot be found by going through a CV. It needs hiring managers to ‘guess’ who are the better candidates… and normally use some kind or organisational framework to identify who are the best candidates.

This, in my experience, means that those with better qualifications come to the top of the list, who went to the right schools or universities and live in the right neigbourhoods.  In other words a natural bias occurs which may very well weed out the very people who would both thrive, and importantly, remain with the organisation.

It is important to look at each role and identify not just the skills but the talents needed to fill it, what the person needs in terms of their attributes, their values and their aspirations for the future. Certain roles need longevity of service, for example client facing roles, where relationship building is important the organisation needs to have minimal turnover of staff.

The Role of Future Resume

So looking at a CV would you find the person who may not have the proven ability in sales but has the desire and attributes to be successful in this role?

We believe the Future Resume helps hiring managers to identify those who would ‘fit’ any role where these motivating factors are important.

One key quality most hiring managers are looking for, whatever level within the business, is a need to keep learning. Being able to see how they work with ideas, what space they need to enable them to grow in their own way, how they encourage group dialogue and what projects excite them that can build teams of committed individuals who are all, in their own unique ways, valued by the organisation. Future Resume can create an environment where hiring managers can be both aware of these aspects of each candidate and identify those who will best fit the organisation both for now and the future.