If You Want Employees to Bet the Ranch, Hire Ranchers
I work with an amazing array of companies. They run from tiny to huge. From established to start-up. From staid and conservative to wild and innovative. As you may have guessed each of them has some very unique roles that must be populated with insane talent if the company is to succeed. This post is not about those people.
This post is about the level 3 Accountant, the entry-level Engineer, the Customer Service Representative and every other position that is basically seen as ubiquitous across the majority of companies. While the job descriptions and market matches for these people are very similar regardless of the employer, the people themselves very widely.
I am not talking about diversity or individuality. I am referring to that internal element that makes someone a good match for one company and a poor match for the company across the street. Each company has a culture or personality that must resonate with its employees. This is more than a compensation or communication challenge. It is the fundamental challenge of attracting, engaging, retaining, and motivating people who will buy into your path.
I was recently explaining a new incentive plan to an executive. The plan is designed to reflect the aggressive growth goals of the company and the real and specific challenges it faces in its quest for success. After being walked through the details and being shown a couple of examples the executive said “How am I going to explain this? We are asking people to bet the ranch on the company.”
My response? “Hire more ranchers.”
The company had hired some amazingly talented people who were used to getting “safe money” for “safe results.” These are people who have all of the right skills and talents to match the job as it is described on paper. But they weren’t people who were accustomed to “betting the ranch.”
I have a unique perspective on this topic. My wife’s family are multi-generational cattle ranchers. They bet the ranch every single day. They bet on themselves, they bet on their herd, they bet on their crop, the weather, the market and so much more. They start work before sunrise and work even when it is freezing cold or boiling hot. They work when they are sick. They put their livestock’s well-being above their own. In short, they are the kind of people this company needed, but they have far different skills and talents.
People like these exist in every profession. Their pay should reflect their willingness to bet. Their companies should match their ethos. Understanding this when you are creating your company’s compensation programs is essential. Communicating the purpose of the program design to your hiring managers and talent acquisition teams is just as critical.
If your company takes fewer risks and provides a more stable outlook, the ranchers of their profession are not the right people for you. Pay is never enough to change someone’s fundamental profile. As compensation experts, we must recognize that more or different is not always the right answer. Sometimes we must sit down as a team and evaluate whether our company, our plans and our targeted prospective employees are actually a good fit.
Ranchers have no problem betting the ranch. It’s just how they are built. In the same respect, asking a rancher to stay safely indoors and watch the world through a window is a sure path to failure. What kind of company do you work for, and is that reflected in your pay programs and hiring?
Dan Walter is a CECP, CEP, and Fellow of Global Equity (FGE). He works as Managing Consultant for FutureSense. He has three metaphors for every occasion and is a leading expert on incentive plan and equity compensation issues. He has written several industry resources including the only resource dedicated to Performance-Based Equity Compensation. He has co-authored ”Everything You Do In Compensation is Communication”, , “Equity Alternatives” and other books. Connect with Dan on LinkedIn. Or, follow him on Twitter at @DanFutureSense.