The Global War for Talent - Keeping The Best Employees

By Marie Ramp, Germany

Retention Strategies

Fighting this war for talent, your conventional recruitment strategies are not enough anymore. Governments and employers all over the world will need to counter the effects of these shortages by improving training, adopting strategic migration policies, encouraging economically inactive people to enter the workforce and inducing older people to stay working longer.

Companies are getting more sophisticated about workforce optimization strategies and how they use a combination of outsourcing, in-sourcing, on- and off-shoring and automated technologies, which can help them better manage their talent requirements. Long-term strategies include encouraging career woman to become mother by offering them flexible working conditions, additional financial support and job guaranty after maternity leave. Increasing the percentage of university degree holders and promoting the attractiveness of technician jobs are activities to get through to the young target groups. Western European countries are already easing this shortage by sourcing foreign talent.

Within this development professional recruitment strategies are an essential necessity. Human Resources Marketing in order to build up an attractive employer image becomes as important as customer acquisition activities. Promoting such an employer image, many companies use direct marketing activities. They try to attract high potentials by special recruitment events in a unique location with social networking and adventure character. They recruit their talent as young as possible to adopt employee development to companies' needs. And they combine internal activities with external consulting offered by recruitment companies, headhunters and online job exchanges, which have build up high-level experience and play an important role in the war for talent.

Higher Salaries and More ...
Besides higher salaries, high quality job candidates also appreciate flexible working conditions, continuous development opportunities within the company, interesting responsibilities as well an international working environment. In short, the employer they choose must offer something special.

What Do Google Do?
Google, for example, attracts employees successfully by boasting a stimulating working environment of some of the most talented engineers and business professionals from around the world, flexibility, free breakfast and lunch, body massage, "Thank god it´s Friday" days and opportunities to develop ideas and be creative. If the company's image is brilliant, and happy existing employees are very satisfied, the recruitment process and staff retention will be much easier. "Word of mouth", initiated by existing happy employees helps to promote the positive employer image.

Many companies have already started using positive staff referees in the recruitment process and this positive work environment is enhanced 'recommend-a-friend' schemes whereby existing employees earn referral fees by recommending friends and contacts for positions with their employer.

Besides improving their recruitment, companies need to rethink their retention strategies, such as competitive salaries, bonus packages, work-life-balance solutions, and training and promotion opportunities. Attracting your staff with individual packages for development and compensation, you can minimize attrition and guarantee stable high performance for your customers. However, the key to success lies in the combination of different Human Resources activities, which should be target and labour oriented to build up the talent-profit-circular flow: high potentials achieve outstanding performance and outstanding market performance attracts talents.