In today’s era of growth, talent is in short supply. Clients are finding that they do not have the talent required to support profitable growth, and so they are searching. They are in a tough spot because stealing talent away from current employers has proven quite the challenge. Employers are offering incentives to stay put. The bottom line – there is a war on talent. Who gets the talent?
In assisting a client to find top notch technical talent through traditional on-line sources, we can definitely say it is an exercise in frustration. Although they received many potential candidates through the on-line services, less than 1% were worthy of an interview, and less than 1% of those were viable to hire. It certainly isn’t the path to success. Although it dramatically improves those percentages, hiring a recruiter doesn’t guarantee success either. We have seen examples of three potential employees with offers back out after getting a counter offer from their employer.
So, who gets the talent?
- Good leaders – People work for people; not companies. Have you been paying attention to your leaders and whether they are attractive to work for? You better!
- Interesting work– working for a paycheck is definitely not enough. What interests your employees? Find a way to tie that into their work. Give them opportunities to expand their reach.
- Pay for performance– Will your employees receive an incentive for improving the company’s customer service, helping to grow the business, increasing profit or reducing inventory? If so, they will be more interested in what will directly impact their pay.
- Good reputation – Does your company and your leaders have a positive reputation? Employees will know. Potential employees will find out. Everyone can look you up on social media channels, talk with colleagues at civic and trade association events etc.
- Develop people– Do you offer mentoring and training opportunities? Those who do entice employees to learn, contribute and stay.
Why not focus efforts in these areas? Money and time invested in these pursuits will provide a handsome payoff – and an engaged workforce.