The War for Talent is Back -- Will Leaders Use The Evidence This Time?

My latest post on The Working Life at Harvard Business Online just came-out. It is called The War for Talent is Back and starts out:

"Last week I did a workshop with a group of about 20 CIOs from large companies. Our discussion focused on what they could do to build a more civilized workplace. In the course of our conversation, each of these executives emphasized--as I have read recently in The Economist, The New York Times, and BusinessWeek--that building a workplace that attracts and keeps great people is especially important now because the job market for skilled people is so hot. I also have heard similar messages at other companies I have visited recently, including eBay, Microsoft, Google, SuccessFactors, and Yahoo!, as well as from managers at companies including Procter & Gamble and Fidelity Investments." €

I develop five suggestions for winning the so-called war for talent in some detail (see the post for my arguments); note the first four clash with advice given by many so-called experts, but are supported by much peer-reviewed research.

1. Superstars are overrated.

2. Great systems are more important than great people.

3. Create smaller rather than larger pay differences between "€œstar" employees and everyone else.

4. The law of crappy people is probably a myth.

5. The no asshole rule helps.

The fifth suggestion won't surprise anyone who reads this blog; but I was surprised by how vehement these CIOs were about the importance of creating places that were free of contempt and anger because, when such asshole positioning strikes, it makes it so much harder to attract and keep good people.

P.S. Also see The Waste of Talent.

Comments

[steveroesler]

Bob,

The "smaller rather than larger pay differences" are pretty closely followed among the clients with whom I work.

The organizations get into difficulty when they start squeezing more out of employees for a meager pay raise--and then the annual report shows the gap between the CEO/Executive Team and the others. And, the executive increases make the issue an even more emotional one.

[Wally Bock]

The ideas contained in War for Talent are pernicious for the reasons you've outlined. Let me add two more.

Success is rooted in the team, not the superstar. Even Michael Jordan couldn't bring a championship to Chicago by himself.

The keys to individual team success are systems and the team's supervisor. The systems are a corporate feature, but even in lousy corporations, there are great supervisors leading teams with high productivity and high morale.

[Valeria Maltoni]

Bob:

I think there are great people who don't come with a superstar complex. We keep forgetting about all the other people who may or may not get to do great work in companies.

It's about the people *and* the opportunities that the systems companies put in place afford them. I could give you most of my career as an example. And I can tell you I succeeded largely despite the fact that most systems resisted what was possible.