RESPONDING TO THE WAR FOR TALENT

What to do if competitors are trying to poach your staff.

The job market has been particularly hot since the Covid pandemic. There is a well-publicised shortage of skilled workers, and as a result, there’s a high probability that other firms are trying to poach your staff. So how do you hang on to good people in a competitive jobs market?

Let’s start with your salary and benefits package. People work to get paid, and they expect to be paid in line with the market. Do some analysis of your market and ensure that your salary and benefits are in line with the current market rates.

If you’re aware of competitors who pay better or offer extra benefits, your employees are probably aware of this too. Find ways to bring your staff into line with the market rates on pay as well as benefits. Good pay isn’t the only thing your staff care about – they also care about benefits such as flexible working, annual leave, training, career development, etc.

If you become aware of competitor firms who are actively trying to poach some of your employees, the best thing to do is speak with your team. Ask them about their career aspirations; what training and development opportunities they would like and so forth. Ask them if there are areas where they think your firm could improve and what could be changed to make them enjoy working more. Be prepared to acknowledge any shortcomings and offer them the opportunity to get involved in delivering some of the solutions to those problems.

For example, if your staff complain that your firm doesn’t offer career development opportunities and your competitors do, task them with a project to create and launch a talent development programme within your firm. By making them part of the solution, they will feel a sense of ownership and are more likely to want to stay.

Do your research and try to understand your firm’s competitors. When people move from one firm to another, they will most likely trade one set of problems for another. Take time to develop an understanding of your competitor’s weaknesses.If that firm tries to poach some of your employees, you can share some of that knowledge with your team members and help them to understand the problems faced by employees at the competitor firm. Perhaps they will decide that they are better off staying where they are.

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