Finding good people - internally

11 December 2007

Are you struggling to recruit top people to help run your company? Do you envy bigger companies that offer better perks, larger salaries and more stability? Think again - it seems everyone's struggling with the same problem.

That at least is the conclusion from a large global research project carried out by IBM Global Business Services. Released around the world at various events over the last few weeks and based on interviews with 400 senior HR execs, the Global Human Capital Study 2008 focuses on the people management problems that many larger companies face.

It concludes that lack of leadership capability is the second most important workforce-related issue today, second only to the problems companies face trying to quickly develop the skills they want. Going forward, around 75 per cent of respondents see building leadership talent as their most significant 'capability-building' challenge.

What's interesting for start-ups are some of the factors that lie behind these talent shortages. Rapid growth is high among them - a logical conclusion, of course, but one that offers little comfort for entrepreneurs who tend to see fast growth as something of a plus point.

So if it's that hard for big companies, how do smaller operations cope - especially when the pool of talented people willing to take a chance on a start-up is already diminished? One answer is to follow the lead of bigger companies and look internally as well as trying to recruit. Most small businesses are too busy fighting fires to think about formal performance appraisals and long-term training programmes, but you don't need to be a qualified HR professional to come up with creative initiatives to make the most out of the talent you already have.

Take job rotation schemes. Many large companies encourage employees to temporarily switch jobs - they get broader experience and a better feel for how the overall business works, and you get a chance to see which of your team members are really adaptable and who's got what it takes to step up.

As IBM warns, this kind of employee development programme can backfire - if you give people a taste of what they're truly capable of and then dump them back in their old jobs with no decent career path, you're going to lose them. But that's not an excuse for skimping on employee development. Effective people management today isn't just about hanging on to the people you've already got - it's about making sure you understand where their real talents lie, and then leveraging them to build the team you need.

By Keith Rodgers