Using Technology for Employee Retention

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlights some of the challenges that companies face in finding and retaining their talent. One solution according to the article is for companies to turn to technology for help. “You have to use technology to attract and retain the best workers,” Vistage CEO Rafael Pastor said in the article. The reason for this increased importance in the utilization of technology is that, "...the generation now entering the workforce is so technically inclined. If a small company is going to be in the running for the best and the brightest of these young workers, it has to be supportive of the way they want to work – which includes using the latest tech.".
And this push towards technology is being embraced even at the highest levels of a company.
According to a recent survey, "...46% of the CEOs say they’re changing their management style to adapt to the needs of these young workers. Additionally, 30% say that they’re using or planning to use new media like MySpace and blogs in order to market their businesses.".

Great article on Employee Retention in today's WSJ

There is a great article in today's Wall Street Journal on making sure that your key talent does not walk out the door. The article can be found here. While employees will give money as the reason they are leaving a company, in the majority of cases, that is not the real reason. In the article, Carol Hymowitz writes, "Carl Bass, CEO of software maker Autodesk, has found that employees are most likely to accept offers elsewhere if they don't think they are being challenged to grow. Most frequently, they leave if they don't get along with their boss."
A very interesting perspective on what can be done to keep your key employees is presented by Larry McClure, Liz Claiborne's senior vice president of human resources. In the article he says that he "... tries to create jobs with growth potential for the company's gifted employees instead of waiting for openings to occur on the organizational chart. 'You can't be a slave to your structure and tell a very talented director he can't be promoted to the next rung until a vice president leaves.' "

Virtual Recruiting

There was an interesting article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal.
The article, entitled "The New Battle for M.B.A. Grads" [subscription required] spoke about the incredibly competitive environment for hiring M.B.A. graduates. Ronald Alsop writes in the article, "With demand growing for M.B.A. graduates, it is a seller's market out there, making it tough for many companies to meet hiring quotas using old tried-and-true recruiting methods."
In the article, Alsop says that, "To be successful in the future, recruiters will need a different skill set. Rather than being event planners who are transaction-oriented, they'll need to become more adept and comfortable with technology and the online world." The reason for this shift -
as Karen Calo, IBM's vice president for global talent states in the article, "Technology is part of the DNA of today's younger generation.".
I believe that a Recruiter will continue to do what they have always done [i.e. Networking, Relationship Building etc.]. That has not changed. What has changed is the venue where these activities are conducted. Where once you met a candidate for lunch or set up a meeting at your office, now you email or IM them.

Reading is FUNdamental to your success

There is an interesting article here in today's New York Times about the personal libraries of some well-known CEOs. What is interesting is that their libraries are not chock full of current business bestsellers. Rather, the libraries of these titans of capitalism are filled with a rather eclectic mix of subjects. As one CEO states, “David Ogilvy said advertising is a great field, anything prepares you for it. That gives me license to read everything."

Good Talent is Expensive

Interesting article about the dramatic rise in salaries for top Pharmaceutical R&D talent in India. The article appeared in the Business Standard here.

The article mentions that:

"The average expenditure of pharmaceutical companies on research and development has increased four times in the last five years. Industry circles say a good share of the R&D expenses is on manpower, especially the heads of R&D."

Also in the article, Venkat Jasti who is CEO of Suven Life Sciences is quoted as saying:

“I would say the top-level scientists in India are paid the same as, or only about 10 per cent less than, the US standards. My R&D spend on salaries increased by 87 per cent last year.”

The lesson here is this - no matter where you are in the world - Good Talent is not cheap.

Welcome to my Blog!

I have been a 'lurker' in the blogosphere for years, spending countless hours reading other people's posts and thoroughly enjoying the process of reading them.

And I had even made an earlier half-hearted attempt to start a blog before. But, because of work and family responsibilities, my blogging efforts were put on the back-burner.

However, I have decided to start blogging again. The reason for my change of heart is simple. I decided that I really wanted to provide a place where both Clients and Candidates can learn about my thoughts and my philosophy about Recruiting and Talent Acquisition. And a Blog is a place where you can write about and discuss topics in more depth and detail than you can during a normal workday phone conversation.

I plan to write about issues that will be of interest to both the Job Seeker as well as the Hiring Manager. I also plan to write about specific issues that will impact the industries [i.e. Pharma/Biotech and Personal Care/Cosmetics] that I recruit in.

Comments and feedback are always welcome.

Now, in the words of Jackie Gleason, "And away we go!!"