How to Entice and Hold on to Executive Talent
I often get the opportunity to chat with CEOs and management of multi-nationals and SME’s about the benefit of top talent to their enterprise. I have arrived at the following findings:
* Gifted executives are frequently stimulated and enticed by the prospect of individual advancement as opposed to substantial compensation.
* Top talent appeals to other top natural talent – a business with talented executives is more likely to entice other such individuals.
* It generally happens that a business full of top talent will develop faster, recognised as a market leader and yield more profits than its competitors.
I predict that the topic of talent engagement will be one of the critical concerns for years to come. The present and long term availability of talented executives are impacted with anticipated alterations in population demographics, more astute potential hires, technological innovation and globalisation. Without a plan to discover talent, reinforce the capabilities of current leaders and improve the number of individuals in the management pipeline, a company is more probable to be unsuccessful.
The labour marketplace is already pretty challenging in several economies and with many market sectors having trouble obtaining appropriate talented executives for essential business functions, all points to the fact that holding onto talent should be a high priority. It is my impression that organizations without a very clear approach for selecting and retaining talent will overlook opportunities and have a greater chance of failing.
A few key points to consider in compiling a retention strategy:
1. Identify the people who are the most important to keep.
2. Recognise the environmental ‘push and pull’ variables that inspire retention.
3. Create an employee value proposition for high potential-high value employees and put together approaches to apply this proposition.
4. Talent management is not confined to HR, it is something that each and every leader should do and be accountable for.
I am often asked if executive search firms are not at the root of corporate retention problems? To be honest, the answer is simply no. Needless to say if there was complete retention in organizations then executive search firms would certainly not exist, but retention is actually to our advantage. If recruited individuals swiftly move on, ultimately neither clients nor candidates will take the calls of executive search consultants who are not able, or not willing to match the requirements of the client and or candidate. I am convinced that a value-oriented model will outlive and go beyond a transactional model. The executive search consultants who understand this are the ones that help build their sectors.
Being successful in uncovering talented people will lead to recurring business. Search firms who align their pursuits with their own clients’ have a significantly better prospect of succeeding in every search, therefore having a better chance of repeat business. Effective executive search consultants pressure both the client and the candidate to make great and occasionally difficult decisions. Without trust this would not be possible – the emphasis should be on solutions, not just positionings.
As the market for executive talent becomes progressively more fluid, as actual and recognized loyalty of the employee to the employer decreases, businesses without a very clear approach for obtaining and retaining talent will miss out on opportunities and ultimately be unsuccessful.
Note to Editors: About TRANSEARCH International executive search
TRANSEARCH International executive search firm has representation in most of the major economic centres of the world with 59 offices in 37 countries. TRANSEARCH International was founded in 1982 and is a leading international executive search firm.
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