If there is a War on Talent, it's a Civil War

The phrase "War on Talent" has come and gone over the last 25 years, most recently hitting it's peak in the Covid recovery era in 2021.

When ever I heard or saw the phrase, I did this:

Firstly, just the use of the word "War" is such an over dramatisation to the situation. These aren't life saving roles we are "at war" with each other to fill.

But if you want to use the term "War", it's a Civil War for sure.

Why do I think this? Good question;

Salary hypocrisy

Here's a scenario I've seen at least a billion times;

Sam works at XYZ and is hiring a role in their team and the approved salary budget is $150k.

Sam meets someone that they really want but they are seeking $170k +.

Sam gets approval to offer $175k to get this candidate. Shortly after, Jessie in Sam's team hears about this $175k hire and wonders why they are doing the same job for $140k.

Jessie then leaves and gets a job at a competitor for $175k.

Sam complains that people these days only care about the money and they can't find loyal employees that want to work their way up.

Next minute, Sam has been headhunted and leaves XYZ for a $30k pay rise.

Sam hates it when their team leaves for more money but Sam is very willing to pay more when hiring AND take more when it's their own salary.

50 fish for 500 fishing rods

One of the most common requirements you'll see in a recruitment brief is "must have prior experience doing X for Y type company".

The restriction of the talent pools drives this "war" mentality. So instead of being able to select from 1000 Designers who have the skills to do the job, the pool is cut down to 50 because the requirement is they must be Designers who have also worked for FinTech in Australia.

Most companies have a lot of sector or industry expertise within the business already but aren't willing to educate people without that experience.

And the requirement to have experience within Australia (or whichever country you're reading this from) is generally thinly veiled racism. There are exceptions in certain roles/industries but unless the role involves bogan phrases, getting sunburnt and fairy bread, you'll find experience from other countries is actually beneficial to the business.

Keep your army and you don't need to recruit as much

It's not possible to have 100% retention and you really shouldn't be aiming for that for a number of reasons. But despite what talk back radio hosts will tell you, most people aren't disloyal and job hopping every 6 months for the sake of it.

If you treat people well - doesn't mean spoiling them with expensive benefits - but transparency, feedback, investing in them to learn and paying them fairly, you'll be amazed how long they stick around for.

What happens when people stick around longer? You have momentum in productivity, you retain IP and you'll find recruitment easier due to your employer brand and number of referrals from those people.

I know, revolutionary thinking and maybe I'm just a simple bogan that doesn't understand business but what if instead of going to war with each other for talent, you focus on looking after your own first?