This piece is part of a Wall Street Journal series in which an exclusive group of industry and thought leaders engage in in-depth online discussions of topics raised in this month’s WSJ.
What is the one change that many small firms could make that would make their companies more attractive places to work?
Rosanne:
In today’s climate of rapid technological change and blurred lines between sectors, optimizing organizations to innovate and collaborate are significant steps to create an attractive workplace. Employees need to be freed to pursue new ideas and develop new skills without needing to leave their existing employers.
The notion that certain tasks are boring for everyone but “somebody’s got to do them” drains energy and vitality out of companies and organizations.
So try asking your employees to identify the unique places where their talents and passions intersect, and then build teams to optimize those energies. Match tasks with existing employees and then hire similarly passionate people to fill the few gaps that emerge.
We’ve tried this, and believe our employees get paid to do what they actually enjoy doing, and that they know they can carve out their own innovative paths within the organization—rather than seeking new roles elsewhere. Both performance and workplace morale have flourished.
