This fits perfectly with the resource-based view of the organization. We will set out to acquire -- via compensation packages and stimulating work assignments -- talent from our competitors, the military and government. Then we will focus our efforts on retention, keeping such workers out of the hands of our competition. This isolation strategy should yield a workforce that our competition simply cannot match.

3. While it is expected that the core of this strategy will not change significantly, the first change will come in the early phases of the expansion. We will need to place increasing emphasis on retention rather than attraction. Poaching in the industry is rampant, so we need to ensure that our employees are not only well-compensated but are exceptionally happy. When firms were poaching federal employees for their security clearance, it was the inherent unhappiness of those employees with their current work conditions that allowed the poaching to happen. So if we bring employees on board with promises of stimulating work, that work must be provided.

As the company matures, the staffing strategy will need to shift back to finding new recruits. The company will always be driven by technology, but acquiring senior staff from our competitors, the government and the military is costly. We need to place some emphasis on bringing talent through the system. It can take a decade or more to develop top talent, but developing skilled people in-house is essentially to sustaining our talent growth and in turn maintaining a competitive advantage in talent.

It is important that the staff members developed in-house are given high-level responsibilities at key points in their careers. If not, they are at risk of being poached themselves. This is already happening at times as the federal government responds to the industry's poaching of their talent; likewise competitors will respond by targeting any underutilized talent we may have. It is important to defend against these responses in order to isolate and protect the advantage that we have cultivated.
Works Cited:

Monroe, J. (2009). Feds to contractors: Stop whining about employee poaching. FCW. Retrieved November 17, 2009 from http://www.fcw.com/Blogs/Insider/2009/08/FCW-Insider-government-poaching-contractors.aspx

No author. (2009). Resource-based view of the firm. 12 Manage. Retrieved November 17, 2009 from http://www.12manage.com/methods_barney_resource_based_view_firm.html

Kustka, B. (2008). Creating a staffing strategy. Business Week. Retrieved November 17, 2009 from http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2006/03/creating_a_staf.html

Bechet, T. (no date). Developing staffing strategies that work: Implementing pragmatic, nontraditional approaches. United Nations Public Administration Network. Retrieved November 17, 2009 from http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/UN/UNPAN021815.pdf