Finding talent: recruiting, hiring and retaining qualified employees is a formidable challenge in South Florida - Chief Executive Openion

South Florida CEO,  Oct, 2003  by Ricky Arriola

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Many South Florida employers are struggling to address one of the most formidable obstacles to success: the recruiting, hiring and retaining of qualified employees. Although employers in today's down economy continue to receive an avalanche of resumes from job-hungry candidates, the pickings for top talent in the local market are slim--and the best-qualified individuals are already employed elsewhere.

While the region's unemployment rate is higher now than in other parts of the US, the quality of South Florida's talent pool is significantly lower than that of New York, Silicon Valley and the Midwest. Why? First, South Florida is home to relatively few of the country's top academic institutions--or for that matter corporations--that breed and attract skilled workers. Second, a large percentage of jobseekers have immigrated to South Florida from countries where different attitudes are held toward education and work. Consequently, the local talent pool is flooded by individuals with minimal work experience and a lack of basic business skills. Improving the situation would require making extensive systemic changes, most significantly to our educational system.

To address these issues, some employers are turning to executive recruiters to snatch personnel from local competitors. Other employers are sticking to the basics, posting help-wanted ads on Web sites and in national newspapers and industry-specific magazines to lure candidates from outside of South Florida.

These short-term approaches are not sound business practices. To achieve longterm success, South Florida employers must put in place the rigorous recruiting, hiring and training practices used by companies in better job markets. Moreover, employers must allocate their resources to those employees who will ultimately add value to their businesses and remain loyal.

With this in mind, the executive team at Inktel Direct has successfully incorporated the following recommendations into our own employee recruitment-and-retention program:

* Proactively recruit employees. Don't rely solely on job postings to identify candidates, and don't wait until your company has a job opening to hire a high-quality employee. Keep a sharp eye open for prospective candidates at industry events, business meetings and other gatherings. Also, ask for candidate referrals from other employees, colleagues and educational institutions.

* Thoroughly screen prospective employees upfront. In today's economy, job postings typically produce a deluge of resumes. As a result, executives must implement the appropriate applicant-assessment systems to weed out weak candidates and ensure that the lion's share of resources are invested in the right ones from the outset.

* Verify a candidate's experience and background. Gather and review information from various sources, including interviews, background and reference checks, and testing data.

* Seize the rare gems. It happens all the time: Employers take too long to make employment offers and end up losing the best candidates to savvier competitors.

* Don't be cheap. Although the employment market is weak, and employers seem to have the advantage, less-qualified candidates usually end up costing more in the long run than those who are better qualified and command higher pay. Hiring the best candidate often results in greater longterm productivity and intellectual capital.

* Provide new employees with adequate orientation and training, as well as an understanding of opportunities within your company for career development. Companies that do so have fewer problems with turnover and are comprised of happier, more productive employees.

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* Develop employee-retention programs. An investment in education, training, corporate retreats and other employee-centered activities can help to foster motivation and loyalty, and instill a stronger work ethic.

* Promote from within. The practice of providing employees with opportunities for growth, and helping top performers to move up through the ranks, enables your company to develop a more talented, motivated and energetic team. These practices can help employees to become more productive and committed to your company.

Let's face it. South Florida employers can't afford to hire the wrong employees or lose their top performers to competitors. It's critical for local companies to invest the time and resources in appropriate systems for recruiting, hiring and retaining employees. Companies that do so will gain the invaluable competitive advantage of a talented, loyal workforce.

Ricky Arriola is president of Inktel Direct, a national provider of outsourced direct-marketing services. Inktel Direct's diversified client roster includes Fortune 500 companies in travel and leisure, financial services, health care, government, telecommunications and other industries.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Americas Publishing Group
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group