Employee Poaching
June 9th, 2008
How do you get good employees to come to your company? Apple has decided to go out and get them. The new strategy is that Apple recruiters give out cards that say, “You’re amazing. We should talk.” whenever they come into contact with a helpful, friendly employee at another store.
Simple enough, right?
Great for Apple, but scary if you’re not them – especially if you’re not treating your employees in a way that supports and empowers them. Would your employees leave you to work at a place like Apple? Are they loyal enough that they would turn down more money at your competitor’s company? What makes up a loyal employee anyway?
Other posts by Spike.
Nobrainer says:
Employee loyalty is a function of, at least, the best available option.
June 9th, 2008 at 10:00 amChris Bailey says:
Provocative questions! I don’t believe so much in loyalty these days. Companies have proven the extent of their loyalty (or lack thereof…) so it’s rather silly to expect loyalty from employees.
I’m much more inclined to approach the question from a place of engagement. Is the organization engaging its people? Is it finding ways to grow them in meaningful ways? Is the organization creating an environment that is uniquely engaging as a competitive edge?
June 9th, 2008 at 10:07 amBIG Kahuna says:
I make it difficult for my employees to leave and this saves me in everything related to my business.
Here’s how I do it
1. I only hire senior level people (senior level people are less likely to jump from company to company). We do not hire anyone with less than 10 years in their field.
2. I overpay them. Sure, sounds stupid huh? But I haven’t lost an employee in 10 years running. Every employee at Brand Identity Guru earns over $100,000 per year. We keep things lean so that the employee benefits in pay, understanding they have to get the job done.
3. I closed our physical office after 911 and they all work from home. Today’s internet world has made it pretty easy. In the past we rarely had clients visit the office and to be frank all my employees LOVE working on their own schedule from home.
4. I’m what you’d call a very laid back boss. No micro managing going on from me. These are all senior level people that know what it takes. If things are being done correctly and on time and customers are happy…well that’s that.
This works for me and the 15 people that work for me but won’t work for everyone. If you are one of the “social” types that crave the interaction of other employees this won’t work for you. Sharing of ideas happen via internet tools or the phone. Meetings with clients take place at their offices or via phone/internet.
All I know is that my people love what they do and the freedoms they get. Which is why they haven’t left.
Point is, try and be different. Employees will be loyal if their is reason to be loyal. In our case high pay and tremenous freedom work (especially for those that have families).
June 9th, 2008 at 10:47 amkamran says:
I am not sure which is the more genius plan- Apple’s blatant poaching, or Zappos’ call center process at the end of the first week- offering them a ‘ $1000 walk away now if you are unhappy’ option.
June 9th, 2008 at 6:41 pmFor the call center employees, that could be several weeks pay, and surprisingly enough, a significant number of them do take the money and run. There is something to be learned by both models- hire people you like, and give them a chance to walk away early enough if they don’t like you in return.
I once heard the advice of never hire someone you would not want to drive across the country with. Yep, I see that as being sound, too.
akp
BIG Kahuna says:
I love the Zappos $1000 bribe. They instantly get rid of any possible nay sayers. The trick is just to be different in offering benefits to the employees while still living your own brand.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:38 amWhit says:
I think it comes down the simple, human nature associated with everyone’s need to ‘wanted’. Good employees who do their job well are hard to find. Ones that bring something extra to the table, superb customer service in Apple’s case, are even more difficult to find and therfore harder to hold onto. It is true that my generation (the mid to late 20s) and younger have been more apt to change jobs more often but if you continue to supply an environment that is challenging while making sure your employees feel as ‘wanted’ as when you hired them - they’ll be more apt to stay. Not only that, they’ll tell everyone that asks them what they do about your company and why it is great. I see branding and WOM starting at the ground floor - hire good employees and show them why they should care about what they do, everyone is a sales person.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:45 amPat says:
I too prefer ‘engagement’ vs ‘loyalty’. The challenge for a manager is to keep their talent.
Because of technology, companies are starting to create virtual working environments…which can work for disciplined professionals. Most companies still work within a brick/mortar environment.
If a manager wants to keep their employees longer, they need to provide a strong working environment. Basics: competitive pay, benefits, work challenges, training, comfortable physical environment and a ‘respectful’ workplace.
A manager that knows how to listen as well as lead probably knows how to engage their team.
Pat
June 11th, 2008 at 11:54 amEmily says:
I have to chime in because just yesterday I announced my resignation after working for my organization for 5 years (which is a long time considering I’m in my 20s and this was my first job out of college). Today I got a lecture on loyalty from my boss because she wanted me to give 4 weeks notice rather than 2 weeks.
When I started thinking about the things that would have made me more loyal, the first thing that came to mind is that she never once asked if I was happy with my position.
Simply taking the time to have a reflective moment with employees can fend off poaching attempts. If I had felt that the organization was trying to keep me, I might have stayed…or at least been “loyal” enough to give more notice.
June 11th, 2008 at 5:12 pmBrand Logician says:
Like Zappos, I think this is great—for no other reason than it makes everyone have to get better.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:33 pmmariscia says:
Seems that Apple is just looking for people to work in their retail stores what about the people who want to work in the Apple corporate office?
This is a question for Big Kahuna……
By the way, could you tell me the companies that want to hire a person who has 15 years work experience (various industries) and a brand new Master degree in Advertising/Creative Brand Management? It seems that everyone wants an employee with experience but no one is interested in hiring a new graduate. And you wonder why employees job hop?
June 13th, 2008 at 3:49 pmmariscia says:
I used to work in call center and the $1,000 Zappos will pay reps to leave is more than most would make in a month.
June 13th, 2008 at 3:50 pmBIG Kahuna says:
Hi Mariscia,
Good question. When someone got their degree is not a factor for me, just that they have 10 plus years in their specific field. I avoid losing empoloyees this way as well as getting seasoned professionals. Sure I may miss out on an up and coming allstar but they are very hard to find and keep.
Once again keeping great employees is critical to me. The only time I want to lose an employee is to retirement and I’m happy to say that won’t be for a while.
June 14th, 2008 at 6:37 amPoaching Passive Job Seekers with a Business Card says:
[...] to Brains on Fire for sharing [...]
June 16th, 2008 at 3:35 am