Creating an Intimate Small Business Culture to Keep the Best Talent

Recently here on Free Small Business Resource, an article detailed the criteria that helps find and attract reliable employees. While the process is a difficult one, being very exact about what you want in your employees will pay off large dividends once you&ve established your talented workforce. Now that you&ve begun building a top-notch team, the next step is to create workplace conditions for your team to thrive.

Many extremely talented employees, tired of working for large, impersonal corporations, in which the absurdities of corporate management are most evident, turn to small, growing start-ups that propagate a culture that values its employees as more than mere cogs in a machine. Considering this is the work environment to which many of the creme de la creme of workers are attracted to, it pays off to develop intimacy, flexibility, and innovative management strategies that typify forward-thinking start-ups.

To get a better idea of what I&m talking about, consider business writer Daniel Pink&s theories on motivation. He asserts that periodic pay raises are actually not as effective motivators as we would like to think. What really primes productivity, according to the research he gathered in his book Drive, is three things–autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

According to Pink, when a worker is given more flexibility to get the job done without micromanaging (i.e. when she is granted autonomy), she&ll be more attentive to her duties because there is greater responsibility and control in her court. Mastery, the opportunity to learn a challenging set of tasks expertly, is another aspect that motivates people. Finally, purpose is a great motivator because it places the employees& work in a wider context. It&s the final piece of the puzzle. Since everyone wants to believe that they are doing something that has a profound impact beyond their individual tasks, presenting your employees with information about how they affect the company as a whole is vital.

Of course, just like finding the best employees, creating the perfect atmosphere in which they can excel once you find them is no easy task. Still, there&re are plenty of steps that you can take with your company in order to attract and keep the best talent. For some great ideas to get you started, check out Pink&s blog