SRA Update Topics

April, 1995

Warning:
Headhunters Are After Your Best Employees

"Jim, this is M. Osgood calling. I'm an executive recruiter. Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

"Yeah, I'm free right now."
"The reason I'm calling is that my firm has been engaged to conduct a confidential search to fill a senior engineering position at a major supplier to the automotive industry. We're looking for some-one with heavy credentials in CAD-CAM, and I'm hoping you might be able to recommend one or two people with this kind of experience." "What's the salary range?" "Somewhere in the high fifties to mid-sixties, with a substantial performance-based bonus." "And the location?" "Great Lakes area." "Well, quite frankly, I have considerable CAD-CAM experience myself and would consider changing companies for the right opportunity." "Really. May I ask you a few questions about your background?" "Go right ahead."

Coversations like this are taking place every day in companies across the USA.

You can instruct your switchboard operators not to give out names and titles, you can install voice-mail and you can lecture employees about company loyalty: no matter. Head-hunters will still get through or, if they can't, will track down your employees at home.

If recruiters would only relieve you of the burden of terminating your worst employees, it would be a pretty good deal. Unfortunately, they're after your best.

And just as your company may try to attract key personnel from major competitors, your competitors may be trying to do the same thing to you.

Can you prevent employees from talking to recruiters and the clients they represent? No. Can you minimize the chances of their accepting another job? Yes.

Why People Change Jobs

Once in a blue moon, the job opportunity of a lifetime occurs. (For Louis Gerstner, that opportunity happened in 1993, when he was invited to leave RJR-Nabisco to become the chief executive officer of IBM.) Most job changes, however, represent less dramatic opportunity " a slight improvement in title, a ten-percent increase in salary, a larger group of people to manage, etc.

In the realm of normal job openings, small improvements in one's position can also cause major headaches, such as family disruption, relocation, anxiety about the unknown, or the risks of new responsibilities in an unfamiliar organization. Given the concern many people have today about quality-of-life issues, the opportunity for minor advancement may not be enough to overcome the fear of changing jobs.

Consequently, while any good recruiter will sell whatever opportunity exists, the best recruiters know they may be selling something even better. That something is escape.

But escape from what? To get at this, skilled recruiters spend a substantial amount of time encouraging a candidate to talk about his or her current job " not only in terms of significant accomplishments, but also in terms of what problems exist that a change in jobs might solve. Has the candidate been passed over for promotion? Are there any complaints about compensation, perks, the size of salary increases or the length of time in between? Does the person endure working for a boss who has a different operating style? Has recent downsizing created an atmosphere of uncertainty and overwork? Are there concerns about the company's future?

If fundamental reasons to leav exist, they can create significant push, while the new job opportunity provides the pull.

Inventory Your Assets and Liabilities

Would you be willing at your next staff or company meeting to make the following announcement: We encourage any employee at any time to explore other job opportunities and to talk with any recruiter about the job market in general. If you can find a better position at a better company, by all means take it. But we are confident that nowhere will you find a company that treats its employees more fairly, rewards performance more generously or has greater prospects for future growth.

If you can, you're probably as protected as you can be against recruiter raiding parties.

If not, take an inventory of your strengths and weaknesses as an employer. In simplest terms, is your company a good place to work?

Since there are people in any organization who consider themselves to be under-recognized and underpaid, the more important issue is how your employees feel as a group about pay, promotion, benefits, working conditions and the like. This can be ascertained by a series of confidential interviews throughout the organizational hierarchy or by more formal, anonymous attitude surveys, usually of the multiple-choice variety (e.g., For each of the questions below, circle the statement that most closely resembles your own opinion . . .) You will learn what's working and what's not.

Beyond the use of surveys, inventory your organization and develop a list of those key employees in each functional area (sales, marketing, research, manufacturing, etc.) whose departure you would most regret. Since they also will represent the candidates whom headhunters would most like to attract, try to determine whether any members of this group have important reasons to leave. Take appropriate corrective action where possible.

If you are in doubt about the feelings of your key employees, the performance appraisal process can present a natural opportunity not only to provide positive feedback to the employee, but also to let the employee talk about his or her ambitions. If they are realistic, help the employee develop a roadmap leading to the desired destination. If they are in conflict with reality, explain why. Then help the employee set more realistic goals.

Most often overlooked is the employee need most easily filled: recognition for a job well done. A few attaboys and attagirls can go a long way toward improving employee morale, even when tough economic conditions preclude the distribution of salary increases and benefit improvements. Many people, if they realize they are a vital part of their company's plan to improve or restore profitability, will find great psychic reward in playing that role. All they need is to be told.

Don't wait until an employee has received " and accepted " another job offer to turn on the charm or dole out the extra dollars. Employees, well coached by their recruiters, generally recognize these attempts for what they are. Instead, take a proactive, preemptive approach. People don't leave loving marriages, they leave loveless ones.

A Legal Postscript

Joe knocks on your door and announces his resignation, in order to take another job. It's the height of your busy season, and you don't want Joe to go, so you say, You have quite a future here and are high on our promotion list. If I were you, I wouldn't take that job.

Under the legal doctrine of promissory estoppel (restraint through promise), you may have just given Joe a ride on the gravy train. If he turns down the other job and you fail to promote him, he can take the company to court and seek damages for the lost opportunity (and probably higher wages) that you talked him out of taking.

The moral: Recognize past performance with rewards today. Let the future take care of itself.

If you work in a large, multi-unit organization, others – including the corporate Human Resources and MIS Departments – might appreciate copies of this issue. These can be ordered from your Sanford Rose Associates search consultant.

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