This past week, I had the distinct pleasure to be the
keynote speaker at the PSA Security Convention speaking about "Building an Employee Farm System.". PSA is the world's largest electronic security cooperative owned by the
most progressive security integrators in the country selling a wide variety of
products and services including CCTV, biometrics and card access systems.
This is a really impressive group of people who are working in one of the hottest segments
of the tech industry in 2015. And they also picked a wonderful location for
their annual convention - Cabo, Mexico - which is absolutely beautiful!
One of the main reasons for my interest in presenting at
the PSA Convention this year (besides the venue) is that I truly believe that
the development of young talent (through a farm system) is the single biggest
challenge facing small business owners today. A very important topic that may
literally be a matter of life and death for many businesses in the future. With
their future on the line why is it that so many companies struggle with this
issue?
In my presentation, I identified specific strategies in
developing a farm system (that have worked successfully at ISI) which include:
1)
Recruiting young people by presenting an "opportunity" to join a "cause"- not just another job on
the resume.
2) Offering flexible work hours/telecommuting options
3) Developing
culture of creativity with every employee having "a voice"
4)
Supporting work/life balance
5) Giving back to the community
Also, I didn't just provide the strategies to develop a
farm system but also presented the WHY behind the strategy. First, it allows you to train
employees "your way" and avoid bad habits and baggage they can bring from previous
employers. It also promotes long term viability
of business in the future and opens up your business to fresh new ideas, products etc. Finally, it is the most logical exit strategy for many owners who are baby boomers (or older).
At the conclusion of my presentation I was happy to
receive a lot of positive feedback from several PSA owners and partners which
was very gratifying. In the end, hopefully by developing an employee farm system,
they will all have successful businesses for many years to come.