Attracting and Retaining Talent in Organizations

by Lawrence Vijay Girard

In today’s competitive marketplace attracting and retaining talent is essential for maintaining the financial well-being of a company. Most companies approach these issues by offering attractive salary, health and retirement packages. While it is important for companies to make such offerings, the real question is: What is it beyond these basic factors that will attract and keep quality employees?

It is important to understand that the very word “attract” describes the result of a form of magnetism. Magnetism can be described as a vibrational picture of the qualities of energy that any aspect of life radiates. So if we want to understand what makes a company attractive, we need to understand the qualities of energy that top talent want to see and feel in a prospective employer.

The energy picture of a company starts with the vision of the company and the leadership that implements that vision. Lofty words in a company’s mission statement mean little unless those positive concepts are being activated on a daily basis in every level of the business. Successful people are by definition energetic, enthusiastic and creative in the pursuit of their goals. They will be automatically drawn to a company that radiates those same energies in the direction of their personal interests.

Successful people are rarely drawn into working for companies that do not radiate dynamic positive energy. Few people will work long and hard for supervisors that are not worthy of their efforts. It has been said, “Employees don’t leave their jobs or companies; they leave their bosses!” If new employees find over time that a company isn’t what it was advertised to be when they signed up, they leave for greener pastures – whether that be the green of more money or the green of a more fertile working environment. Talented people look first for a positive, creative and supportive working environment, and secondarily for the right compensation package.

Self-development training for all employees and especially leadership skills for people who direct the actions of others is essential for creating a work environment that supports and sustains excellence. A company that nurtures positive human values as an essential part of professional excellence will create a magnetic quality that will draw and sustain the interest of talented people.

Copyright 2007