As the 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) post-season stretches deep into October, what can we learn from how the most successful teams attract the best talent?
Money? Well yes, of course money helps, but in MLB, there are only a handful of teams who can afford to pay top dollars up and down the line-up. The remaining teams (i.e. the majority of teams) must therefore cultivate championship teams by other means. What are their strategies for attracting and retaining top talent, and how do these strategies relate to your business?
Prestigious brand. It is no secret that prestigious brands attract great talent. Your brand identity or reputation is impacted by a number of factors, and is shaped by all stakeholders, including employees. What should you offer employees in order to impact your brand in a positive way?
a) Collaborative culture
While baseball is often viewed as an “individual” sport, it truly is a team game. No matter how talented individual players are, it is the sum of individual, yet aligned efforts of all players, that lead to a team’s overall success. Teammates must respect one another, support one another and work together in order to win championships.
b) Interesting & challenging work
Like the best baseball players who thrive in big game situations, the best professional talent thrives on interesting and tough challenges. Provide employees with challenging work and meaningful problems to solve in order to keep them engaged and committed to your organization’s overall goals.
c) Learning and development
Offer on-going learning opportunities and cultivate a culture where senior leaders are willing to mentor and coach. Every championship dynasty has an amazing coach and every high performing team is led by exceptional leaders who not only share in their team’s successes, but their failures as well.
About Blu Ivy Group
Blu Ivy Group is a leading employer branding and employee engagement consultancy that aligns your organization with contemporary workplace paradigms. Blu Ivy Group’s mission is to help client’s build award-winning people practices, inspire extraordinary employee engagement, and cultivate unique and desirable workplaces.
Blu Ivy Group provides integrated solutions in employer brand and engagement research, strategic consulting, employer brand integration, creative and talent communications.
Blu Ivy Group is a trusted partner to many of North America’s most respected employer brands. For more information, go to www.bluivygroup.com
