In an era of the ARM industry where there are increasing discussions around the valuable benefits of automation and machine learning paired with the reality of a more remote workforce, perhaps now is a good time to also focus renewed attention on employee development. Whether yours is a large corporation, a mid-size company, or a small start-up, businesses would be amiss to lose sight of the power and importance of developing good people. Here are 4 key principles for fostering employee engagement and satisfaction to attract and retain our most valuable resources: humans.
Plan for Culture
Employee development and engagement are inextricably linked with organizational culture. Make sure your plans and actionable strategies for culture development are updated and relevant to the current workforce and work conditions. Inspect for gaps between “preached” or written values and the reality of what is happening. Then work to address those areas of incongruity.
Look for voids where the “weeds” of anti-culture may find opportunities to thrive and fill them by intentionally planting the values and actions you wish to see grow. If you haven’t already fully articulated your vision and values, be sure to do so. As the adage goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. Be sure instead to lay out your plans for success, share them with your team, and then follow through.
Lead Humbly
It’s always beneficial to keep in mind lessons that were learned from experiences. If you are currently in a leadership position, you likely worked your way up– be it through the ranks of other companies or your own. Take some time to reflect periodically. What made you feel valued and cared for as a person? What fostered your loyalty (and what did the opposite)? Who did you look up to and why?
As with anything in life, it’s easy to lose perspective amid the daily grind. Leaders need to schedule time to take a step back, take notice of the bigger picture, tune in to the voices they may not normally hear, and self-evaluate.
Make Room for Growth
We all want our team members to grow, but sometimes we can unintentionally make it difficult to do so. Be cognizant of workplace politics and well-meaning managerial possessiveness. No one wants to let good talent go, but the company is better off if you can let good talent grow. Lateral movement and routine change can be positive forces for fresh perspectives and collaborative creation of innovations and efficiencies. Not much good thrives in stale, sequestered, or stagnant conditions. The same is true for people and ideas.
Investigate where cross-training and creative use of talent may benefit all involved. Capitalize on employee strengths and interests. Where possible, let go of the ladder and embrace the lattice. This will help to grow employee engagement and job satisfaction while reducing silos and the sometimes counter-productive rigidity that can develop between teams. Finally, invest in leadership development to grow those who are moving up the ladder.
Develop and Assess Goals
Schedule one-on-one time with your team to intermittently identify talent and interest, define personal and professional goals, and set clear expectations. Different people have different internal motivations. Assessing personalities can help leaders tailor their approach and better understand how to lead others.
Recruiting intentionally and then evaluating performance using constructive two-way feedback can be an effective way to boost employee morale and nip any issues in the bud. As always, be sure to recognize and reward positive performance and employee growth. A satisfied employee feels valued as a person but also valued monetarily.
Custom Fit to Your Company
We are continually learning what works for us, and we appreciate that the application of these principles manifests differently and with unique character across a wide swath of businesses. Spire Recovery Solutions recognizes that defining and embracing whatever makes your business distinct is part of creating a sustainable culture that feels natural and authentic. Without authenticity, all of this breaks down. So while these principles will look different in practice, the bottom line is that people need certain conditions to grow. It’s up to leadership to cultivate those conditions. The Spire Recovery Solutions executive team aspires to practice what we preach and challenge ourselves to apply these principles as well.
About Spire Recovery Solutions
Spire Recovery Solutions, LLC was founded by U.S. Veterans Joseph Torriere and Jacob Torriere. Spire is located in Lockport, NY, is a professional, nationally licensed full-service debt collection agency that assists creditors in the recovery of outstanding balances while providing consumers with exceptional customer service. Spire Recovery Solutions uses customized processes and state-of-the-art technology to provide transparency and compliance that clients and consumers trust and rely on while working together toward account resolution.
