By: Paul Croteau
Date: May 23, 2010
The Winnipeg Sun

The latest job statistics are showing a significant increase in job creation in both Canada and the United States. Yet, when this occurs, it is my experience that employees no longer feel the need to hunker down in self-protection and will now begin to look for new opportunities. The result is that employers might well be in danger of losing some of their top stars or so called, “heavy hitters”. When this occurs, it is often difficult to find someone to fill their shoes.

Losing a critical senior professional in your organization is a tough spot to find yourself in. More than likely this individual was a long-term employee. And, as a result, it’s probably been a long time since you thought about how to attract a star employee. Today’s professionals, especially those in senior leadership and senior technical roles, are very sophisticated and market savvy. They look at opportunities with a discriminating eye, and they know what they want and will hold out until they get it.

What then would attract a candidate such as this to your organization? There are a number of “rules of attraction” that can apply in this situation. These include the following:

Attraction to the corporate brand – star candidates are attracted to organizations and companies that have a good reputation for both products and services, as well as how they treat their employees. Word gets around. Check out the market view of your organization before you set the recruitment processes in place.

Effective recruitment process – senior level professionals want to be treated with respect during the recruitment process. This means conducting an effective recruitment process which is systematic, timely, and includes frequent communication with the candidates. Candidates value their time and have a need for a high level of confidentiality.

Strategic importance of the role – candidates are attracted by the challenge and opportunity to make a difference. They want to be placed in a position where their work is of strategic importance to the success of an organization. They want to be involved in and lead business priorities.

Job content – star candidates are seeking opportunities that provide them with lots of challenge and which will provide a real “stretch” in terms of professional development. They want increased span of influence over employees, strategic direction and organizational vision. They want to have the freedom to make change happen.

Clear goals and objectives – those “heavy hitter” candidates are people who are action-oriented. They thrive on challenging goals and objectives; they want to “do” things. They are the long-term thinkers who can put processes in place and move the organization forward.

Fair compensation – star candidates are in high demand and will not accept your opportunity unless there is fair compensation attached to it. If the published salary is low, you will not attract the right candidates. Then again, employers who “nickel and dime” their candidates during salary negotiation and attempt to negotiate a salary lower than market rates or value, will not be successful in securing a contract with their potential star candidate.

Opportunity for life work balance – gone are the days where the company “owns” their employees. Senior leaders and star performers recognize the need for life work balance and they will negotiate this right into their contracts.

Reward and recognition – organizations wishing to attract star candidates need to engage in best practice reward and recognition programs that link rewards to the achievement of business goals. Reward elements often include bonuses, profit sharing or share purchase loan plans.

Attracting star candidates to your organization is critical to the ongoing success of your business. It involves reviewing all aspects of how you do business. It requires the application of best practices in both operations and human resources. Star candidates recognize star employers - make sure you are one of them.

Research and Review by 6P Marketing

Paul Croteau, B.Comm., CMA, FCMA is a partner with Waterhouse Executive Search Partners, a Canada-wide executive search firm. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 204-934-8821.