Movieclips Monday: Making your workforce memorable

Posted by: Joel Capperella

Today I want to look at the moments that make a workforce memorable. A company’s most memorable moments are indelibly etched on the business and are evidence of what can be achieved when well-developed strategy combines with great talent. Similar to — hmm, let’s think — classic lines from a movie perhaps?

What’s interesting about classic movie lines is that they don’t just happen in any movie. A classic line must occur within a good film (or at least a film that can be qualified as good in its genre). The clips in the sequence above demonstrate this — they all are notable, either in general, by a mass audience, or within their genre.

It’s an important point as we relate cinematic legends to the successful execution of workforce solutions. Creating a memorable workforce moment requires top-notch production and a focus not just on the workforce script but on the acting, cinematography, effects, set design, and more.

Consider these four elements that make a movie line great. Each one can help you create classic workforce moments in your organization.

Talent matching. Can you imagine an actor other than Clint Eastwood asking the “punk” if he feels lucky in “Dirty Harry”? Probably not. The script exists before actors are chosen, much like strategic objectives are defined before a project team is developed. The key is to carefully define the talent requirements necessary to achieve the objective, a prerequisite to identifying the exact people that you will need.

Composition. Anthony Hopkins’ line from “Silence of the Lambs” certainly stands on its own. But those who are familiar with the movie understand that the line was made more powerful by the fact that Jodie Foster was playing across from him. Both main and supporting characters are important to a film. It’s the same with your workforce teams. Team composition matters across the full-time workforce and the contracted workforce. Each person that contributes to an objective must complement the rest of the team.

Employment brand. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “I’ll be back” was so classic that it followed him from film to film. In fact, he uttered “I’ll be back” in eight movies between 1985 and 2000. The line represented his brand. A company can aim to define its employment brand, but ultimately the workforce makes that brand a reality. Therefore, to make those memorable workforce moments, consider how the employment brand is developed and how the participating workforce reflects that brand in the execution of his or her individual roles.

Lasting impact. Memorable workforce moments are action-oriented. They are defining moments in execution that transcend the specific task at hand. Robert De Niro’s “Taxi Driver” character, Travis Bickle, provides a perfect example when he asks, “You talking to me?” This is a great line in the movie and beyond because as soon as it’s uttered it conjures the nature of the character (unstable, obsessed, and potentially dangerous). In the workforce, this sort of moment occurs when a new best practice works so well in multiple instances that it transcends the initial task and becomes an operational necessity.

Creating classic workforce moments is not easy. But by ensuring that the main cast and supporting players are well-aligned, have quality subject matter to work with, and work under great direction, your company can achieve lasting workforce fame.