In a highly competitive marketplace with new entrants joining all of the time, HR leaders need to think very carefully about how they can acquire and retain the best talent for the organisation. That is why developing a strategic approach should help to attract the best talent who can make a positive contribution to the organisation.
Traditionally, flexible work arrangements primarily benefited employees with parental or caregiving responsibilities. This approach has the advantage of encouraging individuals who might otherwise remain outside the workforce to join the organisation.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that many more roles could be performed remotely. While some employees embraced this shift, others found it challenging, highlighting the importance of avoiding one-size-fits-all solutions and offering flexible options tailored to individual needs.
A current trend is to offer flexible reward schemes where employees can choose what is most relevant and valuable to them. For example, buying or selling annual leave or extending health insurance to the wider family. Even the perception of flexibility can give a good impression of the organisation. There is some interesting research on whether the benefits need of employees is different by generation for example, should there be a different offer for Generation Z.
Getting information about competitors and their rewards packages can be helpful in terms of benchmarking where the organization is currently at. Obviously, this data may not be freely available as it can be considered commercially sensitive – but recruitment adverts normally give information about salaries and other key benefits. The frequency of recruitment by competitors also provides part of the picture and their current state.
Organisations need people with appropriate skills and knowledge and there are some other factors that could be considered in terms of retaining talent. For example, are there any specific departments which don’t have enough depth and would struggle if they lost even one or two people? A talent management matrix may be helpful at this point to see where to focus efforts on.
Forward-looking organisations might seek to develop relationships with universities who deliver programmes in specialist areas. This could be mutually beneficial as universities are keen for students to get jobs which impacts on their higher education employability rankings. If this feels too big of a leap between current and prospective approaches, they can consider whether they could offer internships. Gaining the insights of students who have no prior knowledge of the organisation can lead to useful reflections and innovative ideas.
Some organisations make a deliberate strategy of trying to poach from their rivals. There are examples of organisations doing ‘team grabs’ when launching a new product, team or department. The advantage of a team grab is that they are familiar with each other so they don’t need to go through the stages of team formation and can hit the ground running. Of course, there may be a secondary benefit of disrupting their rivals and hoping it has a negative effect on their performance.
Attracting talent is the initial challenge, however HR needs to work with the leadership team to identify what can be put in place to retain them. This could involve regularly reviewing the offer to ensure it is still competitive. Performance-related pay may be appropriate in some instances and/or bonuses to reflect achievements. Where the talent is in short supply on the market, there will undoubtedly be employees seeking additional rewards to turn down an offer from a competitor. Leaders will need to think carefully about introducing ‘golden handshakes.
Demonstrating commitment to diversity and inclusion should be automatic and evident through the actions of all colleagues. Policies are important but on their own it isn’t enough. A genuine commitment may be a powerful recruitment and retention tool for organisations. For some job hunters this could be near the top of their list of requirements so being able to present this in a positive and transparent way becomes very important. The celebration of diversity is evident in organisations such as the Emirates who proudly celebrate this on every single flight sharing the number of countries and languages of their crew.