By Dr. Ray Benedetto, DM, LFACHE, Colonel, USAF, MSC (Ret), Co-founder of GuideStar, Inc. and Co-author of It’s My Company Too! How Entangled Companies Move Beyond Employee Engagement for Remarkable Results
The last post introduced the topic of organizational design and aligning ALL forms of capital to achieve desired financial results. High performing companies like Tasty Catering (Elk Grove Village, IL), Crew Carwash (HQ’d in Indianapolis), and Integrated Project Management Co. Inc. (HQ’d in Burr Ridge, IL), use various mental models in their organizational design including the Virtuous Cycle of Performance. The Virtuous Cycle begins with Human Capital and an emphasis on Hiring for Character.
Why is Character important? Just as Character represents the qualities and attributes through which an individual person is known, so also organizations are known by the traits employees employ in working with others, such as reliability, honesty, empathy, and trustworthiness. Companies that hire for Competence first may allow individuals with character flaws to pollute a company and cause good workers to leave. High-performing companies use the Three Cs of Hiring – Character, Commitment, then Competence, in that order – to find and secure the best candidates who are not only competent but who are also the right fit with their culture.
High-performing companies tap into both sides of Character. Performance character, which is internally driven, helps a person do their best possible work and includes traits such as conscientiousness, responsibility, and trustworthiness. Moral Character, which is externally directed, addresses how people can be their best in working with others. Traits such as respect, fairness, caring, and putting others first exemplify this side of a person. High-performing companies have relatively low turnover and high retention because they “cracked the code” of having personal values aligned with those of the company, and in doing so have created safe environments where people can be their authentic selves at work.
Shared Core Values are a mark of high-performing companies. Employees bring their individual character to work each day, so the opportunity exists for having them engage those traits for the most effective results each day. High-performing companies do this by underpinning performance expectations with a well-defined set of shared core values. These values define the boundaries within which people have freedom to operate but with consideration and respect for all stakeholders who touch the company in any way: Other employees, customers and clients, vendors and suppliers, and visitors.
Shared Core Values form the foundation of a company’s character through which others want to align because they feel good in doing so. Customers want to work with companies they like, and those feelings come from the relationships they build with the employees with whom they work. Shared Core Values are the starting point in Hiring for Character because you want to find the best candidates who already have a solid personal foundation upon which to build. Getting the right people onto your “bus” and keeping them begins with alignment on Shared Core Values and Hiring for Character to fit those values.
Questions for the Week: What are my company core values? How do I w