Attracting and Retaining Talent in Corporate America

GB 540: Macroeconomics

Randy Worthy

Graduate Student

February 8, 2011

“….companies were increasingly dependent on the knowledge worker..the new worker who worked not primarily physically with his body doing physical labor, but with his mind…all workers were of significant actual and potential value to the firm…labor was not an expense; labor was added value, a resource, potentially the greatest resource that an organization possessed”

William A. Cohen, Ph.D.

One of the most difficult challenges that employers are currently facing is finding excellent and talented employees to work for their companies. For one, resume falsifications has become notoriously rampant in the employment world. Moreover, it is now hard to find people with integrity, people whom you can have absolute trust in.

An equally difficult task is to keep the bad kinds of employees out of your company. You may be very cautious with your hiring process but you will still sometimes end up with employees that give you nothing but bouts of headaches which creates employee discontent and morale issues. To help you attract and retain good employees and repel bad ones, the organization should have in place the following characteristics: a. solid reputation; b. provide clear job objectives; c. present challenges and learning opportunities; d. create a culture of accountability; e. offer attractive compensation; and f. create a culture of diversity and inclusion.

Solid Reputation

One of the best ways to attract superior employees is to be a top company. Needless to say, high achievers want to work for companies that have excellent reputation, exemplary management and top of the line products and services. “The global war for talent is likely to intensify” (The Economist, 2006). An organization cannot expect to attract talented employees if the company has a poor rating. It is therefore important to work your way to the top and let people see what kind of an excellent company you have.

Provide clear job objectives

When a company writes job descriptions, the objectives should be clear and reasonable with the responsibilities and duties assigned for the position. A job position should be challenging but not too difficult to the point that an employee would feel that he or she is working a job that is supposed to be for two people. “The success of advanced economies is increasingly dependent not on their physical capital but on their capacity to mobilize their citizens brainpower” (2006).

In addition, the responsibilities stated in the job description should all be relevant to the position being applied for. This means that it is not smart to include the duty of running errands in the job description for a graphic designer.

Present challenges and learning opportunities

Top performers will not be satisfied long-term with a job that does not cultivate a good learning experience for them. “One solution is to establish an internal market, encouraging workers to apply for jobs across the company” (2006). If talented workers see that the organization will just make them do mundane tasks on a daily basis for the rest of their career lives, it is a good chance that these workers will seek employment elsewhere. However, if these workers see that the job present ongoing challenges and learning opportunities that will enhance their knowledge and experience, it is more likely for the organization to attract and retain talented employees.

Create a culture of accountability

Cohen state, “We are all accountable – management, employees, labor, and subordinates

-and we must all be held accountable for not only what we say, but the actions and decisions which we take or fail to take” (2008). Right from the beginning, an organization must inform applicants that the organization does not have any room for mediocre employees or substandard performances and that the company is not afraid to dismiss unproductive employees. Bad employees especially those who are lazy or do not have the right credentials for the job would bypass working in such an environment.

Offer attractive compensation

“Thanks to a hyper-competitive labour market, professional-service firms have become more preoccupied with their talent than ever; and even companies in more mundane businesses have begun to think that they cannot manage without it” (2006). Money is not everything but still, organizations cannot deny the fact that money is an important factor in attracting and retaining good employees. Top achievers know their worth and they will not rest until they find a job that gives them proper compensation. As a result, firms must offer a competitive salary to applicants so that the company will be able to attract good employees more effectively.

Create a culture of diversity and inclusion

The benefit of diversity and inclusion alone, if done right, pays off not just in a better company, but a more productive one. Thomas proclaimed, “Diversity is a worthy goal undoubtedly linked to the overall performance of any organization” (1999). Managers must use an optimistic point of view in looking at diversity and inclusion. It is the idea that cultural diversity in work groups increases the pool of available resources – such as social networks, skills, and insights – to enhance the group’s ability to be creative and solve problems. When looking at diversity and inclusion within a corporation, measurable performance benefits are found when work groups chose to learn from members’ different experiences rather than ignore or suppress them. When work groups actively acknowledge and engage with their different members in that way that fosters learning, overall performance improves. An environment of diversity and inclusion makes a corporation very attractive to top talent applicants and helps retain talent within the organization.

Conclusion

“People view the global war for talent with foreboding..fear is that America (companies) may no longer be able to attract more than its fair share of the world’s brains” (2006). American companies can turn the tables on this belief and retain top talent into their organization by ensuring the following: a. have a solid reputation; b. provide clear job objectives; c. present challenges and learning opportunities; d. create a culture of accountability; e. offer attractive compensation; and f. create a culture of diversity and inclusion.

Attracting the right kind of people to get into your company and keeping the bad ones out of it is not as easy as most employers would like it to be. It would take many struggles and consume so much of hiring manager’s time just looking and filtering through hundreds of applications and interviewing a long line of applicants. But at the end of the day, the organization would know that all the hard work was worth it.

References

Cohen, W. A. (2008). A Class with Drucker: The Lost Lessons of the World’s Greatest

Management Teacher. AMACOM: New York, NY. (p. 215).

Thomas, D. A. (1999). Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate

America. Harvard Business School Press. Retrieved on January 7th, 2011.

The Economist: A Survey of Talent. (2006). Retrieved on January 7th, 2011.