Protect Your Business During the Great Resignation
We built a company culture that employees can thrive in--something I learned to create while serving our nation. Mission-Focused Leadership.
FROM PREVIOUS Release
Inc.com
November 14, 2022
Workers are quitting in record numbers, but that doesn't have to happen to your company.
BY VINCE PROFFITT, FOUNDER/PRESIDENT OF SPARTAN MEDICAL
The job quits rate, which is tracked by the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics, recently hit an all-time high of 3 percent. This phenomenon has been dubbed the Great Resignation and it has negatively impacted businesses across the world, with no signs of slowing down.
There have been innumerable articles and studies theorizing its cause, and the consensus is clear: employees are sick of being treated poorly. When the pandemic hit, we all faced an unprecedented opportunity to rethink the way work functions in our lives. Around 4.5 million workers quit last November, realizing they didn't want to spend their valuable time and energy at a company that undervalued them.
A highly consequential MIT Sloan Management Review pointedly titled Toxic Culture Is Driving the Great Resignation, provides the data to support this theory. According to the study, the most reliable predictor of industry-adjusted attrition is corporate culture.
Simply put, a lot of employees are fed up and don't hold loyalty to any company. But it doesn't have to be that way. Let me share with you what we've accomplished at Spartan Medical Inc., the company that I founded in 2008.
How we drove employee engagement and record-breaking growth
This past August, Spartan Medical® ranked 2,112 on the Inc. 5000 list after recording a 283 percent net growth rate over a three-year period, with our 2021 fourth quarter revenue exceeding all of 2020. What those numbers do not tell you is this period of growth occurred alongside a massive company-wide pivot. This led us from being a traditional MedTech supplier to a solutions company providing a full range of solutions to a vast array of customers.
The Inc. 5000 placement also came on the heels of being named by the Washington Business Journal as one of the Best Places to Work in the greater Washington, D.C. region. This ranking was developed through the quantitative measurement of employee survey responses. Out of hundreds of nominees including Fortune 500 companies, Spartan Medical® ranked second.
How did we drive this record-breaking growth and extraordinary employee engagement during a pandemic and the Great Resignation? We built a company culture that employees can thrive in--something I learned to create while serving our nation.
Mission-Focused Leadership
During my time at the United States Air Force Academy and as an active-duty Air Force intelligence officer, I learned that creating a winning culture motivated people and that a dedicated team driven towards a common goal can overcome any barrier to progress.
In the military, you do not have the ability to motivate people with more money, but you can motivate them with a culture that always puts your troops first and conveys the message that your team and mission are paramount.
When I entered the corporate world, I saw firsthand that big company missions are often tied directly to profits, quotas, and shareholders. A real mission has to tie back to taking care of your people and making sure they can exceed goals while maximizing their personal and professional potential.
Earning loyalty and translating it into fulfilled goals is a concept I call Mission-Focused Leadership. In essence, Mission-Focused Leadership focuses on earning your team's loyalty so you can motivate, mentor, and mobilize them to achieve their goals and surpass industry norms. Whether in the military or the business world, if you go above and beyond for your team, they will reciprocate that dedication. The adage "if you take care of your troops, they'll take care of you" is absolutely true.
Mission-Focused Leadership has propelled my business to its vanguard position in a highly competitive industry. Our successes are proof that a winning company culture increases morale, engagement, and revenue.
In the months to come, I'll share insights and advice on how to take practical steps that will help you implement your own version of Mission-Focused Leadership. With it, you can build a company culture that employees love while protecting your business during the Great Resignation.
Original Link: https://www.inc.com/inc-masters/protect-your-business-during-the-great-resignation.html
