What does it mean to be an employer of choice?

As owner of Lynn Electric, George Grieb is intentionally leading his team through cultural transformation. Ria Story, Leadership Speaker, Author, Trainer and I had the privilege of conducting a 1/2 day workshop with George and his entire team in May 2024. It was the first time he had done anything like this with his team. I recorded a full interview with him a couple of weeks later. Watch the full episode here.

Becoming an Employer of Choice

The Goal: People who work there want to keep working there.

Becoming an employer of choice means:

• The people who are currently working in your organization have a very strong desire to continue working there because they’re excited about their future within the organization
• The people who are currently working in your organization experience frequent growth and development opportunities
• The people who are currently working in your organization are consistently challenged to get better in positive ways
• The people who are currently working in your organization feel valued by their leaders and their team members
• The people who are currently working in your organization have meaningful relationships with their co-workers
• The people who are currently working in your organization feel good while on the job
• The people who are currently working in your organization feel good about themselves and their leaders at the end of each day

If you’re serious about developing a high impact culture, you may likely feel challenged by the list above. If you don’t feel challenged, you’re either already there and trying to get better or you have no real intentions of becoming an employer of choice.

The cultural transformation mountain is tall, steep, and challenging at times. High impact leaders strive to build a high performance team capable of creating a high impact culture.

“When current or would-be leaders realize you are investing in their growth, it’s more important to them than money.” ~ Jim Blanchard

To become highly effective at competing with those who want to steal your people, you must become an employer of choice. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself on the losing end of the labor war, especially relative to attracting great people.

The result: endless frustration.

Read the bulleted list above again. Imagine the type of word of mouth advertisement someone with those feelings working at an employer of choice will provide. It will be off the charts. That type of word of mouth advertisement will cause any organization to become a sought-after employer of choice.

But, you can’t buy that kind of advertisement. You must earn it.

“At Chick-fil-A®, leaders SERVE, which means they do five things: See and shape the future; Engage and develop others; Reinvent continuously; Value results and relationships; Embody the company values.” ~ Dee Ann Turner, Chick-fil-A® VP Talent (Retired)

Here’s an example of the impact of earning that kind of word of mouth advertisement from your existing team members.

Chick-fil-A® was our client for three years straight and is a great example of a sought-after employer of choice. They’ve been climbing the mountain for over 50 years. They understand they don’t have to be sick to get better and are striving relentlessly to improve.

I remember one store operator in a town of 30,000 saying to me, “When I have an entry-level job opening, I typically have 250 applicants.” He wasn't experiencing a labor shortage!

Wow! Without a doubt, there are always great people applying. That’s what it means to be a sought-after employer of choice.

To become a sought-after blue-collar employer of choice, you must become innovative.

Culture is all about the people, not your products and services. So, when I say innovative, I mean innovative relative to the growth and development of all people at all levels.

Why is growth and development of people innovative?

It’s not in the white-collar world, because they’ve been doing it for decades.

But, it is in the blue-collar world because very few blue-collar leaders value doing it, even if they’re considered successful within their industry.

Dive deeper into this subject by watching the full 1-hour video from our Yale University presentation below...it won't cost you a thing.

“It can be far more difficult to overcome success than adversity...There’s a tendency for many in successful companies to rest on their laurels and become complacent, self-protective, and less innovative. In such bureaucratic cultures, employees can survive only by running with the herd. Decline sets in.” ~ Charles G. Koch, CEO Koch Industries

Have you heard about the Blue-Collar Leadership Academy?

• Do you lead other people?
• Do you want to enhance or transform your culture?
• Are you tired of being frustrated and stressed?

Frustration and stress as a leader comes from not having enough influence with one or more people. I know you can easily validate that for yourself with a bit of reflection.

The right type of leadership development teaches you the principles of influence. Anyone at any level can learn them, apply them, and become a much more effective leader.

Without a doubt, leaders and team members who receive leadership development experience much less frustration and stress than those who haven’t been taught how to lead themselves and others well.

Well developed, high impact leaders are more likely to attract and retain top talent than leaders who’ve never received any leadership development.

STOP hoping you and your team will get better.

START helping them get better.

If you’re a formal authority leader, your team needs you to become intentional about developing yourself and them.

I hope you’re already doing it effectively and don't need any help. If not, check out our super low cost and flexible yet highly effective online solution at BlueCollarLeadership.com/Academy

Up to 2,000 corporate team members can participate for one low, flat rate monthly subscription. Individuals can now subscribe to courses for as low as $99! Watch the video below to learn more.