Winning teams are magnets for talent. Going back to the days of Woody Hayes, The Ohio State University has attracted the most promising high school football athletes that every university wants. Both Urban Meyer (the leader) and Ohio State (the organization) are both known for winning, but their recent inaugural victory of the National College Football Championship was a once in a lifetime achievement. The team’s magnetic strength is profoundly stronger with this iconic win.
How can your organization increase the strength of its magnetic attraction to the most promising talented people? Spotlight your "wins". In any industry, whether it’s healthcare, education, banking, manufacturing, information technology, people want to be a part of a winning team. Differentiate yourself among the competition for the best talent by showcasing where you have triumphed over your competition.
Start by defining what winning means for your organization. A good place to begin is by looking at your mission, vision and strategic goals:
- What do we stand for?
- What do we aspire to do?
- What are we committing to achieve?
Next, identify results and accomplishments that tell the story of your victories related to what you set out to do. For example, if you are a healthcare organization with a vision to be the world’s leader in clinical outcomes:
- Tell the story with data: Create reports that show how you’ve excelled in clinical outcomes
- Tell the story with real people: Capture patient cases where there were excellent clinical outcomes
Finally, plan ways to make those stories known by the talent you want to attract. Here are some questions to ponder:
- What websites and social media venues do talent in my industry visit regularly?
- What professional meetings and conferences do they attend locally and nationally?
- What journals and trade magazines do they read?
When you get your winning stories out to the "recruits" you want to attract, you are enhancing your brand as a winning team. The competition for talent is getting tougher. It’s not enough to woo talent in the traditional ways of featuring your benefits packages and employee perks. Woo them with wins.
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