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An article in this month’s Inc. Magazine describes the activities of a firm that was retained to recruit talent from a competitor of their client. Having trouble getting through to potential candidates via telephone, the recruitment firm resorted to direct recruitment in the form of having their recruiters stand outside the doors of a competitor’s office at the noon hour to take potential candidates to lunch. Other tricks included following employees of the competitor to their homes or cornering potential candidates in the parking lot. Although there were a few candidates who said that the practice was unethical, most of the people were open to hearing what the recruiters had to say. People like to be pursued and the recruiters were very good at feeding the ego of the candidates.

This story is just one indicator of the trouble companies are having finding qualified candidates. One of the biggest concerns of business leaders today and for the foreseeable future is recruiting and retaining talented employees. There is no doubt that the current shortage of people is making life difficult for recruiters throughout the country. This shortage will force organizations to react in two ways.

The first is companies must realize that to attract talented individuals, the company must become a talent magnet. Bizjournals published an article last week about Mills Peninsular Health Services in the San Francisco area which routinely ranks among the best hospitals in the country on employee satisfaction. To ensure they do not get complacent about their reputation, Mills has implemented a compensation program that rewards managers on the happiness of their staff. Debbie Goodin, the Vice President for Quality Compliance and Human Resources, was quoted as saying, "It's not really about programs, although we do keep our eye on that ball. If you don't have leaders who are passionate about the vision, all the programs in the world won't fix it. Our senior team truly understands they don't run the business. The people they hire run the business. They truly get it. If the business is doing well, because people are sincerely engaged in making it happen, then it's a fun place to work." Why do you think Mills has little trouble finding employees?

When an employee leaves, do not rush to immediately place an ad in the paper. Ask yourself and the co-workers of the employee that left if it is absolutely, positively necessary to hire a replacement. The cost of recruitment will undoubtedly rise significantly. Look for ways to put some of that money you would spend on recruitment into making your operation more productive. By taking just a cursory look at your business processes, you should be able to see the areas in which real improvements can be made. A 10% enhancement in productivity has many benefits besides the obvious cost savings and increasing customer satisfaction. It can also mean a reduction in the necessity to hire additional people and making better utilization of the talents of your current employees.

Ask your people what can be done to improve the operation. Think creatively, brainstorm ideas and ways to reduce cycle time and throughput. It may be easier than you think.