According to the Inc. 5000, most companies' toughest challenge is attracting and retaining top talent. Here are six ways one company has overcome that challenge.
Ramsey Solutions has been voted one of the "Best Places to Work in Nashville" 10 times and has one of the lowest turnover rates of any company its size.
Ramsey Solutions is the 800-employee company led by Dave Ramsey that helps individuals regain control of their money and helps small-business owners run their businesses better under the EntreLeadership brand.
Armando Lopez, executive director of human resources at Ramsey Solutions, recently explained in my interview with him what it is about his organization that attracts and retains top talent.
1. Create a company culture that elicits referrals.
The best source of future talent for any company is its existing satisfied employees. Ramsey Solutions has created a company culture with a clear and unified mission of "helping others and extending hope." Their vibrant and mission-driven company culture prompts current employees to refer new talent to the organization.
2. Achieve interview efficiency and transparency.
Ramsey Solutions uses artificial intelligence to enhance the efficiency of its candidate flow. Once a potential candidate has been identified, he or she has six to eight interviews before an offer is extended. The multiple interviews create enough transparency to ensure that both parties (candidate and employer) have enough information and time to make the wisest choice.
3. Set a standard of winning.
When a Ramsey Solution team member is underperforming, leaders engage to ensure the team member knows "what winning looks like" and "what they are being measured against." If the team member does understand but continues to underperform, the leader will have a formal meeting to have an "emotional firing." The leader communicates one more time what the team member must do to remain in the role and will ask if the team member really wants to continue.
Leaders and organizations that retain underperforming talent can severely hinder the performance of the team and the reputation of the leader. This process ensures a standard of winning and that no team member is ever surprised by a tough conversation.
4. Empower the whole self of each employee.
Ramsey Solutions focuses on its team members' developing the skills they need not only to do their jobs better but also to be better people. Lopez says Ramsey Solutions "cares about the whole person, not just the eight hours of work they do every day."
Lopez continues, "Loyalty is not placed to the company who only cares about the 8-to-5 person. The new loyalty, engagement, and discretionary effort are given to the organizations that care about the whole person. Those are the organizations that will win moving forward."
5. Promote better work-life balance.
"We hire the whole person and they are likely going to check work email or text while at home, but we ask them to not do that as much as possible," says Lopez. Ramsey Solutions encourages its team members to "be where your feet are." If you are at home, be at home. If you are work, be at work.
6. Commit to over-communicating.
"If you feel like you are over-communicating your company mission or vision, then you are right on point," says Lopez. "When talking to your team about what you want them to do, what's coming ahead, or the company mission, you should feel like you are over-communicating."
According to Lopez, an indicator that the mission and vision have stuck with a team is when the team members begin mocking or mimicking the leaders and acting out the mission.
As a Millennial and Generation Z keynote speaker and trainer, I help companies lead, engage, and sell to the emerging generations. If you'd like help solving tough generational challenges inside your organization, click here.
