Jeff Altman - The Big Game Hunter

Influence, Hiring and Retention

Respectfully, you are mistaken if you believe that people join your firm because you have a "great opportunity." Almost every firm I know makes that claim and, in fact, most opportunities are pretty ordinary.

They amount to little more than plugging a square peg into a square hole for a few dollars more per week after taxes.

Yet people accept this all the time and it begs the question, "Why?"

"What causes people to accept the same tedium at a new organization for what often amounts to a few dollars, rupees or euros in additional wages after taxes?

The answer is actually pretty simple and comes right out of Sales Training 101 Circa 1975:

Sell the sizzle and not the steak.

In this case, by selling the brand your firm represents in the marketplace, you are able to create the idea of hope, opportunity and desire that so many aspire to.

But the next question is once they are there and they know that they are basically doing the same job for a different manager, what keeps someone.

That answer is also pretty simple and goes back to my MSW (Masters in Social Work) days when I was reminded that people are social animals who operate in relationship to other social animals. Your biggest grouch and grump and your biggest introvert are social animals who will still with you because of relationships with others.

Without doing things to bind people to their group, department, manager, peers or organization, many people lose the feeling of being a part of something bigger than themselves and have little to hold them with you.

It is like the story of the platoon or military unit who will do amazing things because they feel the power of the relationship with the other men and women.

Unless your managers do positive things to create loyalty, trust and relationship, unless such behavior is part of your corporate makeup, your staff will be tempted by the next ad they see on the web promising Nirvana or the next recruiting call they receive from a recruiter offering a fantastic opportunity if only they accept this job offer.

These subtle influences often do more than an extra few thousand dollars to solve your staffing problems.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter*
Concepts in Staffing
TheB igGameHunter@cisny.com

© 2007 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director of Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

He is the author of “Get Yourself Hired NOW," “Get Your Job Search Organized NOW," "No B.S. Job Search Advice," "The Single Best Question You Should Ask on Any Interview," and, his newest, "Look Me Up: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Social Networking Your Way to Job Search Success," They are available at www.GetYourselfHiredNOW.com, www.Scribd.com and The Kindle Store on Amazon.

*The Big Game Hunter is a registered trademark of The Big Game Hunter, Inc., Milford, PA 2007