Winning the Talent War

Citation

Harris, M. (2001), "Winning the Talent War", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 88-92. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.2001.22.2.88.4

According to the author, the objective of this book is to “help the present generation of leaders to engage and retain the people who are required for current and future success”. Furthermore, the reason why it is necessary to write such a book is that such people are in short supply and companies are competing with each other for highly qualified employees. The cover jacket of this book describes Woodruffe as a management consultant based in London. The book is of moderate length (approximately 170 pages, divided into 15 chapters), with an ample list of references, which range from the Wall Street Journal to the Handbook of I/O Psychology, and includes journals such as People Management, the Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Personnel Psychology. The result is a nice mix of practical examples and good theories.

The book is divided into two parts. Part one is entitled “Creating a strategy for winning talented people”. The first few chapters explain why attracting and retaining qualified employees has become a challenge for companies. From there, the author explains what he terms the “fundamental paradox”: employees represent an important asset but they are also a large cost for the company. To try to counter this ambivalent message being sent to employees, companies may use a dual strategy; some employees are considered core (i.e. long term) while others are deemed peripheral (i.e. short term and subject to layoff when necessary). Unfortunately, according to the author, it is all too easy to convey the wrong message to the core employees one wishes to retain on a permanent basis. One suggestion Woodruffe offers to avoid this problem is to make the human resource strategy he outlines part of the business strategy. In my opinion, that is one of the key tools for making such objectives work.

Chapter 8, which I consider to be one of the most valuable chapters in this volume, addresses reasons why core employees might be treated as a cost rather than an asset. The reasons range from “we will pay them well” to “we need fresh blood”. After explaining each one, the author challenges the logic and refutes it.

Part two of the book describes how to implement the strategy developed in the first part. These chapters cover such techniques as recruitment (e.g. have top executives become involved in the recruiting process), selection techniques (e.g. hire candidates who have the competencies that are necessary in the future), and training and development (e.g. provide international assignments). In addition, the last few chapters address such factors as motivation and career management as methods to encourage retention of highly qualified employees.

Many of these suggestions are what I would term “strategic” in orientation. While few of the suggestions are “earth‐shattering” or novel, most of them make good sense. Conversely, managers and supervisors will not find many simple tips that they can immediately implement. Given that the book’s subtitle is A Strategic Approach to Attracting, Developing, and Retaining the Best People, and the problem, at least as viewed by the author, is at the human resource strategy level, the solutions do seem appropriate. Thus, those readers interested in quick tips for immediate implementation might do better to look elsewhere.

In sum, I would recommend this book for an human resource management (HRM) executive or other HRM staff member who is seeking to have a “bigger picture” of the attraction/retention problem for professional level employees. The book may also be valuable for convincing a senior manager of the importance of implementing a new strategy for addressing attraction or retention problems. For a supervisor or manager seeking some immediate solutions, the book may be of less value.