Published on Wednesday, Feb 14, 2007
EXPERIENCING a modest level of attrition is de rigueur and quite acceptable, but an unusually high walkout rate demands instant attention. It's time to look around you or... . the culprit may even be lurking in the shadows outside.
Yes, it's sad but true! With the escalating global war for talent, competitor organisations are not above poaching away top talent from their rivals. Third-party recruiters are forever on the prowl to raid leading performers at the behest of their clients. Alas, strong and popular companies fall prey more often and tend to bleed talent on a colossal scale.
Can you sit around and complacently watch outsiders steal your prime assets from right under your nose? The writing on the wall couldn't be clearer. When your organisation increasingly resembles a revolving door of sorts, it's time to take stock, consolidate your resources and strive to keep your prolific team together.
Agenda: Defence
HR experts advocate designing a protection system to block or at least limit future poaching attempts. A systematic blocking strategy includes:
Villain of the piece - Be extra vigilant and identify likely employee-poachers by studying competitors' recruitment needs. Tracking their talent requirements through job announcements, corporate website postings. Will give a fair idea of where raid attempts are likely.
Sitting duck - Identify the most vulnerable targets within the organisation by determining the key performers, those who hold high-value jobs and are associated with best practices. Also locate allies of employees who left recently, enquire about resignation details like notice or severance, employees who are facing rejection for project/promotion, grumble discontentedly, or have suffered a personal tragedy recently. Again, individuals who get public exposure through awards, press quotations, television appearances or conference speeches will be highly coveted. Dr. John Sullivan, well-known thought leader and advisor, discloses that many companies go as far as "asking their functionally aligned executive recruiters to conduct a "dry search", which is a scan of the organisational chart and employee profiles to see which individuals are least and most likely to be desirable by an outside firm".
Tricks of the trade - Recognise possible decoys, traps and baits to surreptitiously study poaching approaches of potential raiding firms. Contact former employees now employed by a competitor to discover the ruses used to lure them away. Common tactics include bogus telephone calls, direct and indirect emails, overt and indirect web advertising, ex-employee referrals, direct targeting at professional events, networking through association meetings or online community sites.
Thwarting the plot - Protect employee contact information. For this you would need to educate switchboard operators to recognise and screen subterfuge calls (fake name, common name, plea for help, critical emergency) and warn employees about possible pick-up attempts. Only then can you restrict the scope of potential raids. Blocking calls from telephone numbers of regular poachers and competing firms curbs latent attacks to a certain extent. Some companies also restrict Internet access or track surfing activities pertaining to job boards, rival company websites, job application e-mails along with mobile phone usage. Minimise the impact by requesting staff to report details of poaching attempts and reward the informants. Else, try to re-recruit a defecting employee through counter offers, lateral transfers, job redesigning
Offence is the best defence - As ethics go for a toss, griping or crying foul prove futile. Instead, some companies turn the tables by learning others' poaching approaches and leveraging them callously. Taking away more top performers from rivals seems to stem their efforts.
The other way out - Instead, some companies choose to enter into no-hire agreements with rival corporations and recruiters where each party agrees not to solicit the other's employees. Else, you can even block defection through restrictive covenants in the employment contract-like compulsory stay or restrict working for competitors after quitting - for a particular period.
Is it really worthwhile?
Critics as well as employees argue that such blocking strategies are vile and infringe on personal freedom.
They convey wrong messages and breed resentment, suspicion and animosity. In fact, some preventive approaches backfire, as they may actually provoke employees to change sides.
If a leading recruiter is bent on poaching your talent, the best battle plan will not be able to stop him. Indeed, a better way to `raid-proof' your employees is to make them love their jobs so much that they themselves are loath to leave at any cost!
Yes, instead of playing Big Brother and keeping the employees `locked', aim to get them hooked on their own. Inspire die-hard loyalty and trust by taking proper care of your employees. Providing above-average salaries, challenging jobs, growth opportunities, training facilities, appropriate recognition, fair standards, work-friendly atmosphere and healthy work-life balance will develop a company-of-choice which employees wouldn't want to leave for the most tempting bait.
Yes, it's sad but true! With the escalating global war for talent, competitor organisations are not above poaching away top talent from their rivals. Third-party recruiters are forever on the prowl to raid leading performers at the behest of their clients. Alas, strong and popular companies fall prey more often and tend to bleed talent on a colossal scale.
Can you sit around and complacently watch outsiders steal your prime assets from right under your nose? The writing on the wall couldn't be clearer. When your organisation increasingly resembles a revolving door of sorts, it's time to take stock, consolidate your resources and strive to keep your prolific team together.
Agenda: Defence
HR experts advocate designing a protection system to block or at least limit future poaching attempts. A systematic blocking strategy includes:
Villain of the piece - Be extra vigilant and identify likely employee-poachers by studying competitors' recruitment needs. Tracking their talent requirements through job announcements, corporate website postings. Will give a fair idea of where raid attempts are likely.
Sitting duck - Identify the most vulnerable targets within the organisation by determining the key performers, those who hold high-value jobs and are associated with best practices. Also locate allies of employees who left recently, enquire about resignation details like notice or severance, employees who are facing rejection for project/promotion, grumble discontentedly, or have suffered a personal tragedy recently. Again, individuals who get public exposure through awards, press quotations, television appearances or conference speeches will be highly coveted. Dr. John Sullivan, well-known thought leader and advisor, discloses that many companies go as far as "asking their functionally aligned executive recruiters to conduct a "dry search", which is a scan of the organisational chart and employee profiles to see which individuals are least and most likely to be desirable by an outside firm".
Tricks of the trade - Recognise possible decoys, traps and baits to surreptitiously study poaching approaches of potential raiding firms. Contact former employees now employed by a competitor to discover the ruses used to lure them away. Common tactics include bogus telephone calls, direct and indirect emails, overt and indirect web advertising, ex-employee referrals, direct targeting at professional events, networking through association meetings or online community sites.
Thwarting the plot - Protect employee contact information. For this you would need to educate switchboard operators to recognise and screen subterfuge calls (fake name, common name, plea for help, critical emergency) and warn employees about possible pick-up attempts. Only then can you restrict the scope of potential raids. Blocking calls from telephone numbers of regular poachers and competing firms curbs latent attacks to a certain extent. Some companies also restrict Internet access or track surfing activities pertaining to job boards, rival company websites, job application e-mails along with mobile phone usage. Minimise the impact by requesting staff to report details of poaching attempts and reward the informants. Else, try to re-recruit a defecting employee through counter offers, lateral transfers, job redesigning
Offence is the best defence - As ethics go for a toss, griping or crying foul prove futile. Instead, some companies turn the tables by learning others' poaching approaches and leveraging them callously. Taking away more top performers from rivals seems to stem their efforts.
The other way out - Instead, some companies choose to enter into no-hire agreements with rival corporations and recruiters where each party agrees not to solicit the other's employees. Else, you can even block defection through restrictive covenants in the employment contract-like compulsory stay or restrict working for competitors after quitting - for a particular period.
Is it really worthwhile?
Critics as well as employees argue that such blocking strategies are vile and infringe on personal freedom.
They convey wrong messages and breed resentment, suspicion and animosity. In fact, some preventive approaches backfire, as they may actually provoke employees to change sides.
If a leading recruiter is bent on poaching your talent, the best battle plan will not be able to stop him. Indeed, a better way to `raid-proof' your employees is to make them love their jobs so much that they themselves are loath to leave at any cost!
Yes, instead of playing Big Brother and keeping the employees `locked', aim to get them hooked on their own. Inspire die-hard loyalty and trust by taking proper care of your employees. Providing above-average salaries, challenging jobs, growth opportunities, training facilities, appropriate recognition, fair standards, work-friendly atmosphere and healthy work-life balance will develop a company-of-choice which employees wouldn't want to leave for the most tempting bait.
PAYAL CHANANIA
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