What Is A Business Vision & Its Relationship To Talent Attraction?

 It is a tight & competitive market for attracting talent. This makes a business vision crucial and whilst I could say important, I think that time has passed.

Let’s start with the concept of a ‘vision’ which is a mental picture, a creation of our imagination of a highly desirable future outcome with purpose and which has the impetus to prompt us into action now.

A business vision is your ‘story', the narrative that compels talent. It’s the story within which talent can see themselves as a part of, contributing to and especially if it’s a vision with gravitas, purpose, moral weight & benefitting not just the business but society as well, elements which all good visions should encapsulate.

The reason is that everyone wants to be the hero of their own life story.

 A business vision would offer talent the opportunity, support, structure & a big purpose which they can sign up to and feel proud to be a part of.

This is where an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) differs!        

There are many examples of businesses utilising the “we are an Employer of Choice” badge as a talent attraction tool and rightly so. However, whilst free lunches, great workspaces & a positive culture are all lovely but they don’t compensate for an altogether lack of or lack of vocalisation of what the business story, vision, the narrative is.

The attraction tool is the business vision and the EVP is the ‘nice to have, nice to know’, it is the support act to the main act: business vision.

 Business Visions have an emotive core and act as a beacon, reminder & rallying cry of why we are doing what are or even inspired to get started. It has benefits and value for all stakeholders rolled into it.

This means the business vision has to be front and centre, it needs life breathed into it daily, it needs to be walked and talked about. Not hung on a wall & forgotten.

It is a talent magnet because let’s face it,

Few if anyone is looking for a job only for the purpose of being employed & earning a living.

 If posts on LinkedIn are anything to go by, many unemployed people have described walking away from protracted interview processes notwithstanding being unemployed or declining offers based on unrealistic salaries all the way to accepting offers with lower salaries to perform jobs that offer greater meaning for them.

What everyone seeks in relation to a job (think career growth & new learning, flexibility, autonomy) is a composite of what want from a business: a connection to others & to a purpose, something they can rally around & preferably with a moral weight where they can make a contribution that is of value.

A vision with gravitas from a talent attraction perspective is interwoven in the job overview starting with the job advertisement. This isn’t only for a business wanting to attract talent but equally applicable for recruiters looking for a way to position a job opportunity. You can learn how to do this since this approach is non-existent in mainstream recruitment.

Consider the Vision Statement for Tesla:

‘To Accelerate The World’s Transition To Sustainable Energy’.

Not necessary a vision everyone will subscribe to…but it fulfils the requirements of a great vision:

·        Clear & easy to understand,

·        The stakeholders' Tesla wishes to win over will love it,

·        It’s something that the business believes in, is passionate about  and

·        Elon Musk knew he could make it happen i.e.; it is achievable.

3 Steps To Build A Compelling Business Vision        

1.    Think Big! Is it a noble, worthy purpose?

What is the problem that people, the world, society, the environment is facing which you can solve with your product or service which results in them getting what they want & feeling great in having it and by which you are the beneficiary of satisfaction?

 Consider if it ignites & inspires you or fires up your imagination around the value it would offer at a micro & macro level & will do the same for others. Will it change lives now & in the future, is it a non-negotiable for you since all your business activity should be contributing to this.

 2.   Determine Your Business Values

What does your business stand for and what are the values & do they support your vision & your team? How will you know if that value has been met? If the value is for example ‘Make It Happen’ what qualities will need to be demonstrated on the job? Maybe proactiveness or going the extra mile & how will you recognise that in the business? Are there recognition awards? The point is that a value should not be a statement suspended in mid-air but grounded & measurable.

 3.    Can Your Team Make It Their Own?

Can they put their own spin on it to make it relevant for their team, division, region?

To recap, a business vision needs to be authentic rather than a slogan and at its core simple enough for every person in your business to walk it & talk about it as a way of life without any confusion or complexity in being able to apply it.

Remember it’s the beacon that reminds you of where you are going and why. It’s the adrenalin injection that gets you back on the right road when life takes you off into the weeds.

 As a Head-hunter some of the biggest challenges heard from talent over the years is the lack of clarity around what they really want to do, of not knowing what their ‘purpose in life’ is or even how to find it.

 What they usually know most times is that they want to use their potential to benefit not just themselves but others.

Yet there are a few for whom the clarity of purpose has always been there or at least the confidence that they will try out a few things and find their purpose.

What may well be the conduit between these 2 types of people is a compelling vision.

 We all have felt resonance with something the first time we heard it, where we felt called to it, where we knew that it was something we could get behind notwithstanding the fact it might be a difficult journey, it just seems to be a call we can’t ignore. Especially when we think about what the satisfaction of success would mean for us in our own life.

Let me say again: Who doesn’t want to be the hero in their own life story & dare I say it’s what drives us.

It is also the key to unlock the door to attract the right talent who would willingly throw their lot in with you.