When you and the team are approaching the topic of hiring do you wonder how to attract top senior talent? Perhaps, you also ask yourself what are some things to build into the company culture to retain top talent.
Top individual contributors are looking for more than just good salary and benefits. They want to work at a company that values being transparent, has the right leadership in the right positions, and has a hands-off approach from management. They also want to work at a reasonable company that has a low-political environment and a team of smart and cool colleagues.
Transparency
Transparency is essential for building trust and fostering a positive work culture. Top talent want to know what is happening within the company and how decisions are being made. Nobody likes to be kept in the dark especially people who are senior or are experienced. They want to be kept in the loop.
Proper Leadership
Having a proper structure for leadership is also crucial for attracting and retaining top talent. Everybody wants to be able to learn and grow in their role or career. Everybody also knows that the easiest way to learn and grow is through their direct manager. Direct managers can open paths and help people grow or they can gatekeep growth. It is rare to come across good managers. Too often companies promote inexperienced people into leadership positions who are not actually good leaders. People get promoted for many reasons and some people really deserve that promotion. Other times, due to optics for leadership, ignorance by leadership, or nepotism from leadership people get promoted into roles that they are not ready for and will need to grow into. The issue with allowing a new manager to grow into their role is that often times other teammates on the team will suffer because of the immaturity of the new manager. Senior folks do not want to be human trials so that their new manager can gain the experience they need to be an effective leader. Alternative solutions to this issue can be having senior folks reporting to mature leaders or taking a team vote to see who is most respected or who should be promoted to management.
Micromanagement
Micromanagement is a major turn-off for you as it is for top talent. Often times because of inexperience or stress from managers (especially first time or junior managers), these managers resort to micromanagement to try to drive value. Micromanagement will drive senior top talent mad. They do not need their hand's held nor do they need a child manager nitpicking what they do. Trust your senior individiual contributors to communicate with you if they need help. Alternatively, if you feel they are not driving the value they should be driving then definitely make sure to communicate that with them, as well. Nobody likes to be micromanaged at the end of the day, so build a culture that avoids that.
Be Reasonable
Being reasonable is very important for senior folks because they have more of a need for work-life balance. Top senior talent are the ones to more likely have a family or other commitments outside of the office. Building a culture that values having a healthy balance between their personal and professional lives will attract senior talent.
Remove Bureaucracy
A low-political environment is essential for top talent to thrive. There is a lot of charm when a person can come into work and completely focus on their work and not have to worry about office politics or backstabbing colleagues. They want to be able to collaborate and work towards a common goal, without the distractions and drama of office politics.
Great Teammates
Finally, top talent want to work with other smart and cool people. They want to be surrounded by colleagues who are passionate about their work and who they can learn from and collaborate with. They want to be part of a team that is innovative and forward-thinking, and that values diversity and inclusion.
In summary, top talent is looking for more than just a high salary and good benefits. They want to work for a company that values transparency, respect, a hands-off approach to management, a reasonable work environment, a low-political environment, and the opportunity to work with other smart and cool people. Companies that can provide these things will have a strong competitive advantage in attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent.
We are sure you'll find top senior talent to scale up your organization, but don't be a stranger when you need help. We at Great Orange Duck are only one email away from helping you scale.