by Jimmy Flatbush

Created on: April 13, 2010

Attracting and retaining talented employees should be your number one priority, regardless if you lead the MIS, marketing, or finance section of your organization. Talented employees are difficult to find, even in one of the tightest job markets since The Great Depression. However, attracting talented employees is not as difficult as retaining them.

Attracting talented employees is known as recruitment in human resource parlance. Many organizations implement comprehensive recruitment strategies that are not only ineffective, but completely unnecessary. Advertisements do not attract talented employees. This shotgun approach overwhelms human resource departments with thousands of resumes and cover letters. Job fairs are replete with distractions, giving human resource personnel little quality time with qualified applicants. In essence, human resource practices implemented twenty years ago have become relics of the technology age.

Tap into the high achievers of your organization for referrals. Talented people often associate with other talented people and, even if their particular talents are not commensurate with your company’s mission, you can tap into their network of high achievers who possess the skill set commensurate with what you expect from an employee. Moreover, create a professional network on LinkedIn in order to make contacts with people interested in your organization. Even social network pages on Facebook can help you attract talented employees.

Once a talented person is hired, he or she must be retained using a number of principled tactics:

Develop

Talented employees expect a development program that not only enhances their professional skill set, but also allows them to seamlessly integrate into the organization’s culture. Development is an on going process that encourages a talented employee to seek more responsibility and hence, upward mobility. Talented employees tend to remain with organizations that promote from within.

Compensate

Besides what new age human resource gurus maintain, talented employees want to be fairly compensated for their performance. This means that a talented employee should at least receive the mean compensation package of someone who works in a similar position in the same industry. A key component of a compensation package should be an attainable, yet lucrative bonus structure.

Recognize

Talented people want to be recognized for their contributions and performance, whether it is with a simple congratulations

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