Talent Acquisition and Retention: The Six Bs

The 6 "B's" of Talent Acquisition and Retention

AND 6 QUESTIONS TO ASK TO ENSURE YOU'RE ON TRACK

You know I'm not a fan of oversimplifying complex processes with silly acronyms and whatnot, but the subject of the Human Capital's Bs came up yesterday, and I thought I'd share my two cents with you here on how world-class organizations attract, develop, and retain their talent pools.

Here is a short description of each of the HR Bs and questions executives should ask of their human resources professionals and internal leadership.

Buy

"Traditional" recruitment, including investments in:

• Employment branding
• Internal referral programs
• Business networking groups
• Automatic access to applications and employment data
• Relevant online recruitment resources
• Maintenance of contact with qualified prospects
• former applicants
• former employees
• contractors/consultants
• vendor reps

• Executives should ask "Are we effectively sourcing and onboarding talent?"

Build

Training and development through investment in things like:

• On-the-job development opportunities (i. e. advisory board, tasks force, special project)
• Training coursework (classroom and web-based)
• Mentorship and coaching programs
• Interdepartmental projects
• Empowerment, work/life balance
• Quarterly/Semi-Annual 2-way reviews

• Executives should ask "How do our employees rank their growth and satisfaction outside of work?"

Borrow

Partnerships developed with customers and vendors to increase innovation and share knowledge through:

• Joint ventures
• Experiential marketing
• Exchange programs

• Executives should ask "How much of our organizational intelligence comes from outside?"

Bound

Progressing talent through various career paths while promoting engagement 

• Personally relevant motivation
• Competitive compensation, and compensation incentives
• Non-financial investments
• Flexible and customizable benefits and working arrangements

• Executives should ask "How often do we fill key positions from the outside, and how does our retention rate compare to industry averages?"

Bounce

Drop the underachievers according to Welch's vitality model, but invest in:

• Defining and articulating the ideal culture
• Painting a clear picture of the future
• Transparent expectations and standards, with backing of Legal
• Providing candid feedback on all suggestions and complaints
• Fair and independent analysis of situations and markets
• Establishing just due processes including development opportunities
• Prompt and direct management of behaviors that are not in line with organizational goals and values

• Executives should ask "Are our poor performers in the right jobs? the right company?"

Bind

Constantly improve retention rates, foster pride and loyalty, and nurture potential through:

• Compensation
• Creative and personalized recognition and rewards
• Engagement tools
• Granting disciplined freedom with ownership of duties and outcomes
• Becoming an employer of choice by building a strong brand and employee value props
• Align internal and external communications to share and expand the message(s)

• Executives should ask "What more can we do to retain our top-performers?"