Recruiting and Attracting Talent:
Using HR to Improve Company Performance

A commonly cited cliché is that an organization is as only good as its people; in other words, that talent and organizational performance go hand-in-hand. This is even truer today than it has been in past eras, as companies must strive to differentiate themselves from other organizations with a similar price point. Service is key, which demands recruiting and attracting top talent. It also means retaining such talent with the right balance of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. According to the McKinsey consulting firm’s senior partners Scott Keller and Mary Meaney, the evidence suggests that the very best people do the majority of the work at most organizations, thus hiring and keeping the right people can result in productivity gains as well as cost savings due to retention. Keller & Meaney (2017) estimate that high performers are 400% more productive than average ones.

In other words, the majority of the work at many organizations is often done only by a small handful of people. Ideally, of course, the option of choice would be to fill the organization with top performers in every position. It is also noteworthy that for some professions, at least according to Keller & Meaney (2017), finding a high-level performer is even more critical, such as in the fields of healthcare, technology, and creative occupations—in these spheres, workers are estimated as being as much as 800% productive. Knowledge-based workers drive the innovation and advancement of the organization forward by offering new ideas that are springboards for new products that can be potentially revolutionary and give a first-mover advantage to the organization.

Hiring initiatives need to be specific, targeted, and offer a genuine value proposition—not dissimilar to the effective building blocks of attracting customers to a new product. New hires are interested in salaries which support their lifestyle, are emotionally fulfilling for their needs, and have a unique compensation package with what other organizations are offering (Keller & Meaney, 2017). Awareness of how the company’s compensation and salary compare with other companies on the market are thus essential.

In fact, marketing a company’s need for new hires much like the company would launch a product is not necessarily a bad idea, particularly in regards to young employees who are regular consumers of social media. According to one HR expert, “Social media profiles have become standard tools for researching and evaluating talent. Instead of looking only at candidates’ résumés, thoroughly vet them by looking at their...…interested in remaining at organizations at which they feel intellectually stimulated. “If managers make it a priority to show outward respect for employees on a regular basis, it will lead to a strong and enduring workplace culture as well as positive experiences and memories that they will never forget” (Williams & Scott, 2014, par. 5).

Retention and improving the profile of the company for employees is a continual work in progress. Again taking inspiration from how companies attract customers, creating a communication feedback loop from employees about the responsibilities they desire and how the company can improve performance in key areas can be useful (Bajic, 2013). A company cannot know how to improve itself in terms of attracting talent if it does not engage with employees, and create an atmosphere where employees can be candid about their feelings and needs. Keller & Meaney (2017), in a McKinsey study found that contrary to the perception that allowing employees to criticize the company creates a negative feedback loop, when employees were asked questions about their personal priorities, which were then used to define company goals and leadership objectives, companies showed a notable spike in retention and performance. Just as employees must be willing to accept criticism, so must organizations.