Let’s face it, most coffee shops offer similar menu options and have staff with the skills to fulfill drink requests. So why do many of us prefer one shop over others?  It turns out the deciding factor is typically not the product, but the people.  A warm greeting with a smile, making helpful suggestions, and a sincere thank you can make all the difference.

It is clear that no matter the industry, organizational excellence is directly linked to employee excellence.  And employee excellence is comprised of two components – the skills needed to perform tasks correctly and the behavioral qualities displayed while completing those tasks.  In other words, it is not only what work is done, but perhaps even more critically how the work gets done.  These specialized behavioral characteristics are what makes the difference and, in the end, can create a competitive advantage for an organization in the marketplace.

The most successful employers recognize the linkage between organizational and people excellence and understand the specialized behavioral traits that drive their business success.  But identifying the linkage and understanding what “excellence” looks like is just the first step.  Real business success comes when you:

• Hire people that have the desired behavioral characteristics and the ability to learn how to complete job tasks effectively and efficiently (Did you catch what we are hiring for and what we develop after we hire?)
• Continuously develop top talent with the knowledge, skills, and abilities the business needs today and, in the years ahead
• Create a work environment that helps top talent want to stay and grow with the organization.

That is what Talent Management is all about.  Think about your organization for a moment.  Is there a clear understanding of the linkage between organizational excellence and people excellence?  Is there clarity around the critical behavioral traits that delight the customer and contribute to a positive work environment with co-workers?

The good news is that if there are gaps in your business’s current talent management approach, improvements can be made by answering a few targeted diagnostic questions and then being a bit more purposeful with how you manage your talent.  So, how do you do a better job of hiring top talent?  What should development offerings look like for talent in the business?  What are the factors of a positive work environment and work culture?  Well, those are great questions to explore.  Let’s plan on doing just that in the next blog.