Article by Barry Shamis

11/15/01

shamis@selectingwinners.com

206-230-9400

The people lifecycle is Recruiting - Hiring – Development – Retention.

This morning I was speaking to a group of CEOs in Boston and told them that they need to start treating their people like an asset.  Like a new machine they purchased.  As usual, they looked at me like I was crazy.  But, let me share my thinking on the subject.

The only reason to hire someone is to satisfy a business need (the same reason you would invest in a new machine).  If the person is successful and satisfies your need, you get a return on your investment.  But if you can develop that person so they can solve bigger and more diverse problems, you get a better return on your investment.  And, if you can keep them for a long time, you finally get leverage from your investment.

Thinking strategically about staffing can make all the difference.  Approaching staffing in terms of return on investment and other business terms will help you make difficult decisions with more confidence.  This is even more evident during difficult economic times.  In hard times, one of the first things to get cut in budgets is training.  Would you cut maintenance on your machinery?  By integrating your staffing planning into your strategic planning you will get a competitive advantage.  

This seems so obvious and yet so few companies actually implement.  I asked the group I was with today why this is the case and they said that it was difficult and they just didn’t know how to do it.  (I really appreciated the honesty!)  If you believe that people are your most important asset, you have to start behaving like you believe it.  One of the suggestions I made with the group was to apply the best minds to this difficult problem. 

If they were uncomfortable with the process, they needed to bring in some outside assistance.  And most important, they couldn’t just ignore the problem.  You wouldn’t ignore a sales slump and problem with your production.

Here is just a sample of our thinking on the subject:

The five critical predictions of a strategic staffing program.

1. What is your business strategy?

2. What will the market allow you to accomplish?

3. What must the person you hire accomplish to satisfy your business need?

4. What knowledge and skills does the person need to satisfy your business need?

5. How must the person behave to be successful within your business model?

This should get you started thinking along the right track.