Compensation principles and practices

¶ … Recruitment and Retention for the it Workforce

Globalization has changed the way organizations recruit and retain their employees. The world economy has been in a period of continued growth and expansion since the 1990s. Add to this the rising demand for talented employees and one can begin to understand why human capital recruitment and retention has become a key to organizational success, across all industries (Amaram, 2005).

According to Amaram (2005), baby boomers are now exiting the workforce at a faster rate than new candidates are entering. In addition, the most talented of candidates are now found to prefer job-hopping as a career tool. All of these factors have contributed to the challenge that organizations now have in recruiting and retaining skilled workers. Amaram's (2005) article discusses the best practices and innovative strategies that organizations can utilize to enhance their recruitment efforts.

Poaching" or "brain snatching" employees is one method of employee recruitment Amaram (2005) discusses. This approach involves learning about and visiting other firms and offering their best and the brightest employees positions. This process often comes with a high compensation, however, as money is often a motivator for this type of job-hopping candidate. For this reason, organizations must have generous compensation plans and benefits in place to make an attractive appeal. These organizations also offer their own employees generous incentives for recruiting candidates. In some instances, this process is more effective and less expensive then other recruitment methods, despite the higher salary levels it requires.

Hiring talented recruitment agencies, or headhunters, are also another way of effectively recruiting employees, according to Amaram (2005). Recruiters today are now hired to find all types of employees from high-level executives to truck stop workers. "In a recent survey of 150 executives from the nation's 1,000 largest companies, 70% indicated that executive recruiters were the most effective way to find qualified candidates" (Amaram, 2005). Of course, once again, organizations must have competitive compensation plans in place, otherwise they may not be able to attract the talent they need.

However, in addition to compensation, candidates look to other facets of a job offer to make their decision whether or not to accept. If a compensation package is not more generous than a competitive organization, other factors could still sway the employee. Meeting other needs of the candidate, such as advancement opportunities, the fit of the organizational culture, and training programs help fulfill higher levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs than simply monetary rewards ("Abraham Maslow," 2005).

Some organizations use more innovative approaches to effectively recruit candidates. Due to the increasing low unemployment rate in their area, Sanders Brother, Inc. created their "Hispanic Initiative" where the company actively seeks out and train Hispanic workers who want to become welders. They use word of mouth and other advertisement in Spanish newspapers to promote their program (Amaram, 2005). This type of program focuses on the future compensation rewards, due to training, rather than the initial monetary rewards.

Amaram's article is very useful in today's economy. As he mentions, the competition for talented employees is fierce. This is true whether the organization is in the private, public or military sector. Human capital is an organization's most valuable asset. Without good people, an organization is destined to fail. and, although compensation is a motivator, other factors can motivate candidates to join an organization as well.

The suggestions for innovative recruitment can be easily applied to the military environment. First, "poaching" recruits is an excellent idea. Although going into the top Information Technology firms and trying to steal away their high level executives may be a bit unrealistic, other industries would be perfect. For example, simply entering a traditionally minimum wage employer, such as fast food outlets or retail stores, and one could find the perfect candidate for military recruitment.