Talent in good times and bad
by Miki Saxon
Talent availability goes up and down, up and down all through the town—and the country and the world. Thanks to a strong global economy and an aging population talent has been in short supply for awhile, so if the economy slows and more talent becomes available staffing should be easier—right?
Not really. It was still difficult during the last recession when all the information channels were saying that there was an abundance of well trained, highly qualified workers available.
A looser talent pool doesn’t mean that it’s easier to hire; it doesn’t mean that turnover is less costly, because the 80/20 rule still holds true.
The overt costs (20%) during good times include recruiters, relocations, and over-sized salaries/sign-on bonuses and they all but go away during lean times. But the covert costs (80%), including interviewers’ time, slipped schedules, lost opportunities, lost productivity, and lowered morale, are still present.
Hiring itself isn’t easy, either. In 1999, an ad might generate 80 responses, 90% of which weren’t a fit; in 2002 the same ad generated 500 responses, but 90% still didn’t fit.
Other fundamentals don’t change, either.
- A corollary of Murphy’s Law states, “No matter the condition of the labor market, the specific skills being sought by any given company at any give time will be
a. the least available skills
or
b. the same skills that are being sought by every other company, - No matter how long or hard you work, your organization will not meet its objectives without the right talent.
- A manager’s raises, bonuses, stock options, and even job, depend on the ability to hire the right person, at the right time, for the right reasons.
- Without the ability to hire and retain people in a timely, cost-effective manner, managers are gambling with their own success. After all: You are who you hire.
- People retention is critical, and retention is the result of good hiring practices.
The days of labor famine come and go, but even in days of labor feast, staffing is too costly to ignore good retention practices.
What do you do to retain your talent?
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