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Summary

I Poaching from a competitor is a fine balance of risks and benefits.
I Make sure that you ask the right questions to minimize the first
I and maximize the second.

What is the job worth? – pay and conditions

n What is this job really worth to the company in terms of
quantifiable outputs?

n If we offer an exciting package to a new hire, how will that effect
our present best people?

n Do our remuneration policies fully reward our best, most loyal
employees?

n How does the relationship between pay, qualifications,
responsibilities and capabilities stack up?

n What would our most effective competitors pay for this position?
n If we can’t compete on pay, what can we offer our ideal candidate

that is better than money? (More people than you might expect
value personal and professional development beyond mere
financial gain as long as the money is enough to enable them to do
a little better than just get by.)
n What makes us different as an employer?
n Is there something so exceptional about this need that we must
offer an exceptional package to attract the right person?
n Are we limited by pay scales?
n Is there any really good business reason why we should be?
n What is your evidence for that?
(This last question is added as a reminder of the real “killer question”.
It should be asked any time that the answers that you get sound too glib or
any other time that you feel like using it. No other question that I have
ever come across or found myself having to respond to has been so influ-
ential in making me really think things through rather than simply being
“fast on my feet” under pressure. Being fast on my feet is an attribute that
I, like most good business people, tend to overvalue.)

The best use of the best people 43