Careers & Classifieds Channel

Finding & Retaining Talent

Richard Lewis, Managing Director of leading aviation executive search firm Marlborough (www.marlborough.aero) , delivers his perspective on strategies companies should employ to both seek out and retain talent.

As the market for executive talent becomes increasingly fluid, as real and perceived loyalty of the employee to the employer reduces, companies without a clear strategy for finding and retaining talent will lose out. And that is even more so in service-based sectors of the aviation industry where, fundamentally, the only source of sustainable competitive advantage is people.

The lack of talented people to develop new thinking and to challenge the status quo can be a severely limiting factor to a company’s growth ambitions – not just for the present, but more importantly for the future. Without a program to identify talent, strengthen the capabilities of existing leaders and increase the number of people in the leadership pipeline, a business is more likely to fail.

Retention Strategies - What can employers do?

Despite recent corporate staff cutbacks, 80 percent of global business leaders believe that "people issues" are more important today than they were three years ago, and 68 percent believe that retaining talent is far more important than acquiring new blood, according to a study by Accenture.

The economic arguments for proactively managing the talent pipeline are robust, and only strengthened by the current environment of economic growth and low unemployment. Already many industries are having difficulty finding suitable staff for business critical roles from the external labor market, which all means that retaining your existing staff must be a high priority in such a challenging labor market.

So what can employers do to help retain their staff? We believe these are the key measures that should be used to help gain an understanding of the issues of staff retention.

The path to finding new Talent

So what do we mean by Talent? There is no doubt that people with good IQ, sound reasoning, analytical skills, and high levels of energy and drive fall easily into that category.

But we are also include people with bags of common sense, knowing how and when to do the right things, and who have the wider set of complementary soft and social skills which enable them to get the best out of people and to maximize the performance of their business.

Technical skills are necessary but no longer sufficient in the workplace. Employers don’t want just skilled workers, but ‘skillable’ workers: those who can learn and adapt to changing strategies, and are flexible enough to meet new strategic demands.

Do unto others …

Many companies' staffing activities are hurting their own causes. The mad dash for talent, especially in today’s competitive market, is leading organizations to embrace hiring practices that create inherent conflicts. This goes right back to "making the right hire." The way you build your team will be reflected in the type of team you have, and that will demonstrate what kind of people you have. Just be careful what you wish for. Setting the wrong tone, establishing the wrong guidelines or pursuing the wrong people often leads to a major disconnect, and that increases the odds of failure.

If you raid your competitor, don't be surprised if you attract the mercenaries, not to mention a whole lot of sharks (recruiters and other companies directly) looking to raid that talent pool.

The best way to ensure that your staffing efforts are handled effectively is to consider the source. All of the suggestions above should first be applied to your Human Resources function. Your company must truly understand the mission and needs, and be able to recognize and acquire the right tools. Organizations must give HR the talent and the resources to build their companies correctly.

The Win-Win for Recruiters?

So what about the recruiters? Aren't they at the root of corporate retention problems? Well, actually no. Sure, 100% retention would bring about the demise of the headhunter, but retention is principally the recruiter's friend. Those with a wheeling-and-dealing style will eventually be found out. If the people that are "placed" quickly move on, the day will come when neither employers nor employees will take or return the calls of recruiters who clearly are unable, or unwilling, to match the needs of the candidate or hirer. Smart people know that in a professional services business, a value-oriented model will outlast and outperform a transactional model. The recruiters that recognize this are the ones that help build their industries.

Most companies don't want to pay substantial fees to hire hundreds of people, but they might happily pay moderate fees to hire dozens of very talented individuals. Repeat business is invariably a function of the success of previous work, and long-term recruiting relationships must produce long-term hires. Those people who align their interests with their clients' have a much greater chance of succeeding in every search, thereby having a better chance of repeat business.

The best recruiters will develop a rapport with their client that is critical to a sustained staffing partnership. Successful recruiters force both the client and the candidate to make good decisions, even when they aren't inclined to do so. But if there is no trust, companies will not share the information needed to do an effective job. Therefore, the recruiter and client must foster mutual trust by agreeing on solutions, not just placements.

Summary

In summary, finding and retaining talent in today’s market can be a real win-win for both the company and the staff member. Numerous research studies over the years have demonstrated how a high performance-oriented, highly committed workforce who is clearly aligned to business goals is a primary driver of customer value, financial results and growth in shareholder value.

Finding talent requires you to be clear about what you mean by talent: setting your own leadership gold standard and identifying high potential individuals against this standard.

Organizations want people who can win the trust and confidence of their colleagues and so influence the entire organization. They want people with an overall perspective of the organization, whose market awareness, corporate loyalty and sensitivity to managing relationships will provide the backbone to the company. Talented people then need the right experiences in the right roles, to be exposed to the right level of development and an acceptable level of reward to create the lifestyle to which they aspire. To retain talent within an organization, senior executives must have this as a key strategic objective and be accountable for the retention and development of their people.

The culmination of all the above is creating an organization people want to work for, an organization that is exciting and challenging. Talented people want to stay with companies that are successful, that have a good reputation; companies with a positive culture and high achievement ethic. Overall, it is about developing strategies that will provide talented people with an environment in which they can consistently excel.