Are You Magnetic or Bi-Polar?

A close friend of mine, faced with the real possibility of being downsized in a corporate merger is, after only a few weeks of looking, faced with several job offers.

Counter to this, I’m currently working with a national client to help them redesign their organizational structure in preparation for the introduction of a new Vice President role. We have already received several CV’s of well qualified candidates with very reasonable salary expectations.

It would seem that despite what side of the fence you are on, employee or CEO, there are talented people available. It’s for this reason, despite what many of the well-known publications are suggesting, I don’t really think there is a “war for talent.”

There is, however, some misperceptions on what we should expect.

For the job seeker, the problem isn’t a lack of opportunity, it’s a lack of foresight and flexibility in pursuing new directions and new opportunities.

For the hiring organization, there are plenty of good candidates available at a reasonable salary. It’s unreasonable, however, to expect to hire them at a fraction of the cost of the previous employee — despite their advanced education (and qualifications).

To put this another way, it’s been my experience that talented people always find good jobs, and good organizations and great leaders always find talented people.

The question I have for you then is, does your organization create the kind of magnetism that will attract good talent, or are you sending signals that identify something other than what you might suggest?

I’m sure at this point you think your organization or team is a great place to work, but it’s not really what you think that matters does it?

I’d like you to try a quick litmus test this week, asking five different employees across your organization these three questions:

1. What do you enjoy about working here the most?

2. Why do you stay here? What makes you keep coming back day after day?

3. If there is one thing I could change to improve the working environment, what would it be?

The answers to these questions, if shared by employees who you know will be forthcoming, will provide you key insights into:

What you offer that would be appealing to new talent.

What you should keep doing to keep good talent.

What you should change in order to ensure talented people stick around.

The key to ensuring you continue to fill the pipeline with talented people is to ensure that your organization is considered, and therefore known, for being a great place to work. It really is that simple.

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© Shawn Casemore 2016. All rights reserved.