How will you define the relationship between attracting & retaining the best talent and the organization’s business performance?

In today’s environment, when access to capital and technology is becoming a commodity, access to the best talent and the ability to attract and retain the same becomes crucial for business performance – in fact, it becomes a matter of long-term business sustainability.

What is the formula for attracting talent today and how has this changed over time?

The concept of attracting talent has changed significantly in the past few years. A few years back, companies looked at having standard policies, procedures and systems that attracted talent and as long as these were maintained at a reasonably high standard, it was enough to be considered a good employer. Today, however, this has become a hygiene factor. Despite companies having these sets of policies and practices in place; employees are demanding – and also warrant - a personalized treatment and application of these practices. There is a need for companies to adopt a ‘one-to-one’ management approach when attracting and retaining talent today as employees have different motivations and goals for themselves. You could say it’s akin to the mass customization approach – wherein a set of robust, good practices are in place, but are flexible enough to be personalized to tap into an employee’s specific motivations and drivers, for best results.

How are these companies using new technologies as a means for employer branding?

The Internet has created a transformation in many areas in the way that organizations brand themselves. The internet allows for a large amount of information to be available at a click, social networking sites allow for people to connect with employees from organizations very easily, and recruitment portals create visibility on available jobs. Apart from this, there is the fact of social media conversations that can impact how an employer is perceived by the market, including small but upcoming ‘employer rating and review’ sites. There is definite positive impact of their increased access to information and by and large, organizations have gained from this visibility. However, caution is also important for companies as it is difficult to keep track of the information that is available on the internet, its consistency and accuracy, and managing this is perhaps beyond the role of HR as a function alone – it’s the responsibility of a much larger set of people within the organization to look at a consolidated effort to maintain a positive reputation in the online world