The most important leadership task: Retaining and keeping the best employees.

A series for your success. Expert tips on leadership tasks by Mag. Gabriel Schandl, CSP, CMC Today we are focusing on one of the key "pillars" of business success: effective leadership. The first question to ask is: What are the main tasks of a leader? We could list 20, 50, or 100 tasks, all of which would be valid.

The key points of a leadership task

But what are the four most important ones? Let's reduce the long list of tasks to the essentials:

Develop a strong vision and communicate it
Find and retain the best employees for it
Create a framework for employees to perform optimally
Take care of your own energy

There will be a detailed article on the first task next time to increase the suspense. Today, we will focus on the second and third leadership tasks. The central question is: How can your company become so attractive that the best talents naturally approach you and want to work with you?

Myth of "Employer Branding"

Red Bull receives about 9,000 "cold" applications per year, meaning applications that do not result from a specific job posting but because – mostly young – people want to work for this company. They associate something with it, whatever that may be (lifestyle, trendy, coolness, action...). Red Bull has done something right. They have not only built a well-known brand, but they have also become a brand as an employer. In such cases, we talk about "Employer Branding." The better the positioning in the minds of current and future employees, the easier it is to select the best talents. What does it take? We are back to one thing: a clear vision, a clear commitment, a clear "mission statement." For Red Bull, it is: "We are life, we are action, we are about style and adventure." They convey this clearly, and everyone can decide whether they share these values or not. Replace Red Bull with Google or Audi, it's the same principle. And even if we are not yet "big players": Even small companies already have a reputation in the job market where good leadership is talked about. What is the atmosphere like in your company? Do people enjoy working there? If so, they will spread the word, and it should not be a problem to find future applicants.

Delivering the best guest service in the world

Other companies have other values that are also good. For example, the Ritz Carlton aims to deliver the best service imaginable to guests. This was significantly influenced by the former COO Howard Schulz, who turned four properties into 40 and brought the company to the top of the luxury hotel industry. He expressed his clear statement in a speech with the following sentence: "We don't want people to work for us, we want people to align with our values and goals." I think that's good. Not everyone wants to give their best for guests. This also makes it clear that they are probably better off elsewhere. Top service can only be achieved with top employees, as all successful leaders know. Over 50,000 leaders from around the world have visited the Ritz Carlton's own "Learning Center" to learn about outstanding service and gain know-how for their own companies. Exemplary. By the way, this hotel chain has a simple yet powerful mission statement: "We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen." Again, exemplary. A self-image and a task connected to a central value, which is serving. We should bear in mind that serving actually comes before earning, no matter the business.

Flow – Setting the course for success

What does your company stand for, and how clearly do you communicate that externally? Once that is clear, it is crucial how employees are treated. Because the best can still choose where to go and where to switch. This is easy and fast today. It is also a fact that employees do not leave the company but their boss. So success or failure often lies in the hands of upper and middle management. How well do the men and women there sleep, recognizing and promoting the potentials of their employees? So, providing a framework for them to perform optimally, neither overwhelmed nor underchallenged, receiving regular feedback, and being allowed to work in their "flow state" in the medium term? (Prof. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has significantly contributed to exploring this state of happiness and published his findings in the eponymous books.)

Finding the "right" people

The best employees, just like customers, come through word of mouth. And if your current employees are in good spirits, feel valued, and know that they make an important contribution to the company's success, they will tell others, who will also want to work for you. That is the ideal situation. Of course, positions also need to be filled through recruiters, headhunters, or job postings, and that works too. But the process from the first day of work is even more important: How is the new employee welcomed? Is there a defined onboarding process? Are there ready business cards, computer access, and an information folder about the company on the employee's desk? Is there a "senior coach" or a "guardian angel" from experienced employees who takes care of the newcomer? All of these measures ensure that the newly found employee does not pack up and leave the company frustrated after a few weeks because nobody had time for them. It doesn't have to be this way. How much attention do you pay to your "human capital," your employees? Both current and future ones. This is one of the most important aspects of a leadership task. Good luck! Warm regards, Gabriel Schandl For more information on leadership tasks and Gabriel Schandl, please visit: https://www.speakers-excellence.de/redner/gabriel-schandl-csp-cmc-leistungsglueck.html