| |
|
|
| » December 2006 |
 |
|
| |
| Hire or No Hire |
| |
 |
As Baby Boomers start to retire, the workforce will shrink, directly translating to a shrinking pool of Top Talent. In the coming years there will be less talent for continually growing and expanding companies and, according to McKinsey & Co., now is the time to act if you want to get ahead of your competition. Now is the time to wage the war for talent. |
| |
This war for talent has been going on for years, and McKinsey & Co. has found that most companies are unaware of it. Those companies that are aware thread a fine ethical line in trying to get that limited resource, Top Talent. Because talent is harder to find and attract, companies must walk that fine line to get their next superstar.
But why is talent so difficult to find? There are a few reasons. First, most companies are retaining their top talent by offering higher pay, flexible work schedules, the ability to work from home, and a greater work/ life balance. Happy talent is difficult to pry away. Second, and most importantly, Top Talent are aware their skills are coveted by the market place. They are savvier in negotiating top dollar for their top talents. They have greater influence over the course of their career – they know they have the ability to change jobs at any time because their skills are in demand – and they do. If they feel that they are not being compensated fairly for the skills, or if they are not challenged by their work, or if their work does not balance well with their family life, they are willing to go quit and start anew at another organization. They will not hang around to wait things out, hoping circumstances will change and get better. They act and they act fast because they know they are wanted. Job Security is no longer the tasty carrot hiring managers can dangle in front of Top Talent. In today’s work world, Top Talent stay just a few short years within an organization, hence job security is less of an issue for them, unlike a couple generations ago when a worker could expect to stay and grow within a company for decades.
Because of all of this, you, as a CEO, President, Supervisor, or Hiring Manager, must make a choice whether to walk that line to do whatever you can to entice Top Talent to join you. You have to negotiate shrewdly. As Bruce Tulgan, author of Winning the Talent Wars says, “The most valuable talent will have the most negotiating power."
How far would you go to find that hire? There are many ways to entice Top Talent to join your stellar team:
- Increased responsibility/ more key decisions
- Company car
- Cellular phone
- Opportunity to travel
- Relaxed dress code
- Children or pets allowed in office
- Day care options
- Longer maternity leave
- More autonomy
- Flexibility in work hours
- Ability to work from home
- Education assistance
The list is limited only by your imagination and the company’s guidelines. How do you win the talent wars, and how far would you go to get that Top Talent?
Tulgan suggests that to win the war for talent, you have several strategies:
- Know that Top Talent drives the business.
- Staff the work itself, not the jobs.
- Have as many career paths available as you have people.
- Pay for performance.
- Train for the project, not the long term goal.
- Turn your managers into your coaches.
In the end, in order to attract Top Talent to your team, you must be prepared to negotiate and realize that your talent is what keeps your company going. They are the driving force of your organization. And if you don’t treat them as such, you’ve already lost the war.
"Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, but knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful." - Samuel Johnson
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
