Creating a Distinctive EVP

What are the keys to attracting top talent? What role does culture play? Constellation Brands’ Chief Commercial Officer, Bruce Jacobson, joins Axiom Consulting Partners’ President, Garrett Sheridan, for a chat on attracting the right people, and leadership’s role in ensuring they can succeed.

Garrett Sheridan: One of the things that we say to our clients is that an employee value proposition needs to be a distinctive, differentiated and substantiated. I know that you have done significant amount of work to be able to attract people, but it also sounds like, in your case, that it repels the type of people who won’t fit.

Bruce Jacobson: It absolutely does. The culture will really be a magnet for people who feel like it is someplace they have always been looking for but just have never felt that empowered in other places, and they will be drawn to it. And individuals that aren’t interested in that type of accountability or in battling a little bit to get the resources they need—in a good way battling; it is constructive discontent there—absolutely will realize that, ‘Maybe this isn’t the right place for me.’ And it’s good for everyone if it is not the right place for them.

GS: Makes sense. I’m going to guess that people who are used to an awful lot of process and things that are highly buttoned down and not entrepreneurial probably won’t last that long in a company like yours.

BJ: No, they don’t last very long. We want people to feel like they have ownership of what’s going on in their geographic area. We give guidelines, guard rails and resources, and then we get out of the way. When I look at what we have to do as company leaders, it’s the resources. Make sure the resources are there, the direction is really clear and then stay out of the way and let people do what is really important for them to do.