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Summary

I Advertising and the use of recruitment specialists should be
I actions of last resort. Too often existing employees are
I demotivated because they are denied opportunities and terms and
I conditions that are offered to newcomers.
I Succession planning, training and development and the building
I of experience should be planned to ensure a qualified and
I committed pool of labour at every organizational level.

Should we poach from a competitor?

This is in many ways an ethical decision and some readers may have rather
strong feelings one way or another. Personally I believe that part of the
strategy is to find ways to weaken competition. Where skilled and knowl-
edgeable workers are in short supply, attracting and retaining the best is
an essential contribution to maintaining a competitive edge. I see no more
wrong in taking key staff from competitors than I do with winning and
keeping their best customers. Of course, you have every right to believe
that my attitude is unethical. Once ethical considerations are out of the
way, however, there are practical considerations that need to be thought
through.

n Do I know enough about my competitors, their customers and staff
to attract the best people?

n Would I have any concerns that those that can easily be attracted
away from their present firms would be loyal to us?

n Are we doing enough to build and sustain the loyalty of our
present employees? (This should include building customer loyalty.
Research by Bain and Company shows that loyal customers means
loyal employees means loyal customers – the “Loyalty Cycle”.)

n Can we attract people from the competition without raising the
stakes so high that we create dissatisfaction among our current
best people?

n Do I know enough about our competitor’s employees to be able to
contact their very best people?

n Am I prepared to accept that whereas poaching people and
customers is ethical, expecting new hires to provide confidential
information about their previous employer’s products and plans is
not?

n Am I confident that I will not, through the interview process,
provide my competitors with sensitive information about this
company?

42 Key management questions