In today’s ultracompetitive job market,
it’s hard to find a good fit. It’s difficult for
applicants to find a good job, and it can be equally difficult for companies to find
good employees. If both sides are looking
for similar qualities, shouldn’t it be easier
to find common ground?
“Finding the right candidates can be easy,
if a company knows what it’s looking for
and how to attract it,” says Deborah
Phillips, chief administrative officer of
Priority Health. “It’s worth the effort
because having quality people in your company will help you secure better financial
results. Smart companies know they must
find, develop and keep the people who
keep them competitive.
“Securing the right human talent is essential. Identifying and developing high performers for future leadership positions as
well as developing effective planning methods to ensure that you have strong leaders
in the pipeline are key to a company’s
future. The best way to sustain continued
growth is to increase the number of people
in the leadership pipeline who can intelligently look at the business and find ways to
accelerate your performance.”
Smart Business spoke to Phillips about
strategies to attract and retain the best and
brightest.
How do you define ‘high performers’?
High performers are people who are
eager to get ahead and who have the skills
to move themselves forward. They are
committed to meeting or exceeding customer expectations, have a positive attitude, excellent communication skills, and a
strong desire to contribute. They have an
aptitude for continuous learning, enthusiasm for the organization and their role in
the organization, and the ability to transfer
knowledge to ensure the success of others.
High performers are not happy until the job
is done and goals are met. They are solution focused, they accept accountability,
and they demonstrate emotional maturity.
Finally, they are technically competent.
They have exceptional industry or business knowledge, think organizationally,
and rapidly bring new skills and information into use. High performers are people
you know will be the future of your company.
What are strategies to recruit them?
In most cases, the best candidates are not
looking for positions, so to locate these
hard-to-find candidates you have to work
harder and smarter to find them.
Finding, recruiting and screening candidates can be a very time-consuming
process, and it can be expensive if you
make a mistake. Utilizing outside recruiting specialists who understand your business, networking with colleagues and
encouraging employee referrals are ways
companies can effectively find good applicants without wasting valuable time and
money. Technology (Web sites, Internet
postings, resume searches, blogs, etc.) is
also an effective tool.
Companies can also try calling contacts
or just cold-calling prospective recruits. If
you know what you’re looking for and your
reputation is solid, letting people know in a
very direct way that you’re interested in
them can pay off.
What are strategies to retain them?
If a company wants to keep high performers, it needs to create a culture that
attracts the best and brightest. You don’t
want your company to be a steppingstone
for employees; you want it to be a place
where employees want to stay.
Again, smart companies have a succession management and leadership development program in place for their high performers. High performers, or high potentials, demand a development program. Do
not develop a list of high potentials if you
do not have the resources to develop the
program.
What are strategies to develop them?
Stay involved. Develop a clear set of standards and objectives about what it takes to
succeed in the organization, and ensure
there is a clear connection between what
you require of your leaders and how you
can win in the marketplace. Define the
‘critical experiences’ required to be a high
performer, i.e., what experiences are necessary to prepare the employee for the
future role? Plan for outside coaches. If
you don’t have the skills internally to develop the individual or don’t have the time,
you risk losing the high performer. Create
individual development plans. Remember,
one size does not fit all! Include critical
timelines, action steps, metrics and measures of the program. Teach business acumen. Ensure that your high performers are
well grounded in the business.
Finally, make sure you involve the high
performer in the development plan.
Remember, more than anything else, high
performers thrive on challenges. If you
keep them stimulated, it’s a win-win:
They’re more likely to stay, and your company will continue to benefit from their
efforts.
DEBORAH PHILLIPS is the chief administrative officer of
Priority Health. Reach her at (616) 464-8135 or
[email protected].
