The High Risk of Hiring Professional Talent

Leaders spend a lot of time talking about talent. This is one asset that drives any business. Ask any CEO, if they don’t have a process for retaining and developing talent they will quickly start to panic and complain about how difficult it is to keep talent. Or, they will launch into a series of sound bites highlighting their talent initiatives.

rnDespite the fact that there is too much available talent on the market today, when employees are interviewed they admit the following:

30% believe they will be working someplace else within 12 months.

40% don’t respect their boss

50% have different values than their employer

60^ don’t feel their career goals match the plans their employers have for them

70% feel unappreciated by their manager

There is a saying ‘Employees don’t quit working for a company. They quit working for a boss.” Employees who are challenged and engaged both emotionally and intellectually rarely quit. They also perform at higher levels. Everyone wants to be heard and valued. They want to feel that their employer cared.

If you understand the reasons why talent leaves then you can use this information to assure CEOs that you will be a ‘low risk’ hire. First, you can write the resume to make it sound like you will not be high maintenance. Second, you can highlight that you are able to retain employees, instead of being one of those restaurant managers who generates a high level of turnover.

One of the biggest ‘high risk’ employees is the over passionate professional who puts 110% into their career. This person is high risk because they tend to hit a ceiling and then go start their own business. The company invests money into training them, only to watch them become the competition.

Every Hr Leader faces the difficult challenge of trying to save high-risk, key employees who have difficulty working in teams, or with subordinates. Key employees typically have a loyal following of other employees and customers, or they can result in high turnover rates.

Mangers need to present themselves as talent. They also need to focus on the employer’s needs. There are specific things that you need to highlight to lower your ‘risk factor’ in the HR manager’s mind.

Credibility – Are you perceived as credible

Trust – have you been trusted in the past

Competent – have you successfully started and implemented programs

Experience – can you avoid and solve problems

Implications - will you cost the company money, or save money

Cost – What Return On Investment (ROI) can you offer the company