The Number 1 HR Priority of Inc. 5000 Companies? It Isn’t Recruiting New Employees
The Number 1 HR Priority of Inc. 5000 Companies? It Isn’t Recruiting New Employees
Here’s how the CEOs of the fastest-growing companies in America are managing HR-related issues.
Illustration: Inc. Art. Photos: iStock; Getty Images
Attracting top talent is key for every human resources department, but among this year’s Inc. 5000 companies, it isn’t actually the number one HR-related priority.
Inc.’s annual CEO Survey found that 59 percent of the fastest-growing private companies in America named retaining their best employees as one of their top three HR priorities, compared to 46 percent that cited recruiting among the top three. Upskilling/training was the next most important HR issue, at 45 percent, followed by maintaining employee engagement (43 percent), supporting employee well-being (22 percent), and managing health care costs (12 percent).
Emily LaRusch, CEO of Back Office Betties, a staffing company that claimed the No. 4,308 spot on this year’s Inc. 5000, says one of the ways she has worked to improve the employee experience is by asking them to share a list of their dreams and aspirations. When her employees accomplish significant goals or achievements, the company works to make one of their dreams come true, whether it’s sending the employee on a vacation or to an art class they’ve always wanted to take.
“We’re looking at ways to tie in the work that they’re doing with the things that fulfill them as a human being,” she says. “I think it just helps boost morale, to be seen.”
Tami Nutt, an HR expert and vice president of research and insights at the consulting and services firm Aspect43, says she’s not surprised companies are focusing on retention following a tumultuous few years in the war for talent.
“Having those people who are the living, breathing hands and feet of institutional knowledge of that organizational history, that is invaluable to a company’s culture,” Nutt says. “Those are things you can’t teach.”
When asked about HR-related challenges, 45 percent of Inc. 5000 CEOs say the biggest challenge they face when hiring is matching applicants to their company’s culture, while 49 percent report that their workforce’s biggest challenge is burnout.
“Burnout is real, and it’s hitting everyone,” says Nutt. “It is going to affect everything else, so if you solve for that, the other things will improve.”
When one of LaRusch’s employees is noticeably overworked, or is responding to work emails outside of working hours too much, she creates a boundary on their behalf.
“I had one [employee] who was just awful at checking emails through their phone,” she says. “We actually shut the account down and said, ‘You can’t access your email. You’re taking two days off, go do something for you.
For entrepreneurs who may be struggling to keep up in the war for talent, Christie Horvath, CEO of pet health company Wagmo, which claimed the No. 1,082 spot on this year’s Inc. 5000, advisesfocusing on a different kind of retention: retaining themselves.
“You have to stay around long enough to get lucky,” Horvath says. “The majority of success is, you just have to survive the bad days enough to get to the finish line.”
BY AVA LEVINSON AND CARL PILLIPS
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