Ditch the Talent Treadmill — Grow Your Business with Intrapreneurs

Grow their empire and they’ll help grow yours

Holly Priestner, Head of Talent, PLACE

Let’s be honest, recruiting can be exhausting. You spend hours each week connecting with top talent to build your team. You hope those you hire will stay and grow with your business, but sometimes they don’t. Does it feel like you’ve got a revolving door on your business?

You can close that door by hiring intrapreneurs who want to grow their enterprises within a business they’re committed to – yours.

Define Intrapreneur

An intrapreneur is someone who works within your organization but behaves like an entrepreneur. They go beyond understanding their roles; they comprehend how a business functions.

You know you’re talking to an intrapreneur if they’re selfmotivated rather than direction-seeking. But there’s more to intrapreneurs — they take initiative instead of waiting for permission. They’re good at communicating, rather than just talking. They’re doers, coachable but empowered to proactively seek out solutions. They don’t expect you to build them a team. They already know how to recruit, hire and coach talent to create an enterprise within your own.

In short, they think like you — as a business owner.

Talk To Them As Partners

Nothing draws top talent like admiration. Intrapreneurs are attracted to businesses where they can see a clear path to career progression and success.

Speak to them as business partners from your first conversation. It’s far more effective to use matter-offact business terms rather than trying a hard sell on your team. In conversation, pay attention to the words and phrases they use and repeat. People focused on splits and commissions don’t fit the business-minded intrapreneur mold. Intrapreneurs speak of business profitability and achieving income goals, frequently using words like growth and opportunity.

An intrapreneur wants to collaborate. Explain their profits will be directly tied to yours, simply as partners who happen to have different roles.

Show them you have a proven path to success. Show them that your team is not just productive but also profitable. Highlight the tangible value you bring to make them profitable. Not just marketing and support, but also tools, technology, operations, and coaching.

Be A Career Destination

Intrapreneurs see how you’ll fast-track their income goals this year, next year and beyond.

You’re not looking for people who join short-term to use your business as their launching pad. An intrapreneur will help drive your business as they grow theirs. Show them your organizational charts:

• Where you started

• Where you are now

• Where you’ll be in 20 years

Ask them to identify which of your business units they’d like to grow. Help them see how.

Make It About Them

They can develop a business unit within your team while leveraging the systems and processes you already have in place.

Intrapreneurs view themselves as more than a means to achieve someone else’s business goals. Talk about what you can do for them, not just about what they can do for you.

• Focus the conversation on their goals

• Chart a path for their success

• Ask about their passions and dreams

Again, listen to the words they use. Find out what motivates them and the projects they’re committed to. Their vision of the future should align with yours for your relationship to grow long-term.

This is particularly true for emerging talent. Millennials, who now make up most of the workforce, want to work for an organization whose mission aligns with theirs. They’re attracted to real estate as a career for the flexible schedule, opportunities for self-starters, and ability to set income goals. Show them how your organization can help them build a bigger life in and out of work.

Develop Your Intrapreneurs

Retaining top talent is one of your roles as a business leader. Tell intrapreneurs how you’ll invest in them and their goals. You should be charting a path that leads to their achievement. This means investing time in your intrapreneurs.

• Weekly coaching on growth goals and their production

• Quarterly conversations about their contributions to the team

• Yearly formal growth planning and review

Work with them to create a formal growth plan from the beginning. Hold them accountable for following their plan. But remind them that they’re building something that goes beyond their personal goals.

Growth-minded intrapreneurs want to pursue the next opportunity. Create benchmarks for them to reach that, and open the door for them to do so.