To Recruit or Not to Recruit, That is the Question

Keith Hall, the Commissioner at the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated recently that the unemployment rate held at 9.5% for July, with hourly wages having increased 1.8 percent over the last twelve months leaves business asking questions of whether to recruit and retaining top talent or develop talent from within an organization.

With this question getting discussed and debated at the NG HR US committee in September there are plenty of believers on both sides of the fence. Recruitment and talent management will become an increasingly strategic issue for many businesses, as their future success will be based on the success of their people.

From a focus around recruitment and retention of top talent many factors tie into developing successful recruitment programs, from sourcing candidates to managing the performance of new hires. Streamlining recruitment processes in preparation for increased hiring in order to focus on quality candidates is a key area to focus on. This holds true especially when integrating Web 2.0 and social networks into the recruitment process due to the reach an quantity that are accessible through these interactive methods.

On the other side of the coin, business leaders in today's borderless global marketplace face unprecedented challenges to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. Given how many people in today's companies are being paid to think and analyze, improving others' thinking is one of the fastest ways to improve performance.

Organizations need to ensure their employees develop and implement the current skills and competencies required to execute the company's business strategy today and into the future. A quality employee-training program is essential to keep staff motivated and a company profitable.

These are issues that are constantly changing and evolving due to the ever faster pace of the marketplace and with executives like: Krystin Mitchell , SVP HR at 7-Eleven Stores, Norma Clayton, VP Learning, Training & Development at Boeing, Kim Creighton, VP HR at HardRock Cafe, and Desiree Dancy, Chief Diversity Officer & VP Corporate HR at The New York Times Company; attending the HR Summit US from the 14th-16th of September in Miami answers are sure to be found.

Developing talent internally does have its risk and with senior executives who have been with a company fifteen years or longer getting poached by competitors for higher salaries, is there a way to prevent the move and develop strong loyalties.

Dan Satterthwaite, Head of HR for DreamWorks believes that providing the right environment not only develops and nurtures talent from internally but allows for maintaining senior talent longer. “It was a commitment that we made, because keeping people focused on creative work and keeping people focused on innovation, inherently requires them to take risks. In an environment where people are fearful, they will not taking risks, and we just cannot afford to let the creativity or innovation, that drives this entire company in any way be affected by the uncertainty and fear that the outside world has created over the last 18 months.”