One of the funniest commercials I can remember was for Smirnoff Ice. You can watch it here or I’ll summarize for you below.
In the commercial, two campers happen upon a huge bear going through their cooler. They both approach the bear, but when the bear turns like it is going to attack, they both stop in fear. One camper tells the other that he knows what to do. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a bottle of honey and shows it to the bear. The other camper likes the plan and encourages him… until the first camper squirts his friend with honey and runs. The bear starts chasing the camper covered in honey, leaving the other friend with the cooler. The commercial ends with this lone camper and two women asking, “Didn’t you have a friend?”. The camper just smiles and says, “Yep”.
During a recent Leadership Mastermind, we talked about how to attract and retain better talent. Unemployment rates are low, so it feels like there is a lack of people available for open positions. However, while there is a labor shortage in the US, there are also a lot of employees of other companies who are looking for a new job. The key here is that if you can build an attractive culture (a culture magnet as we call it) and promote that culture to potential employees, you will attract better talent.
In today’s job market, the worker shortage is the bear. Your best strategy is not to worry about the bear. Your best strategy is to make sure that you are faster and smarter than the other campers.
Make your organization an amazing place to work for and the people will come. Let the worker shortage impact the other guy.
