• 
• 

Published on April 16, 2008

In today's talent crunch, no employer would want to miss the chance of being among the shortlisted companies. Getting ranked as a top employer is like winning half the battle in the war for talent.

But what makes these organisations talent magnets? And what makes them so appealing?

While perks and pay could be some of the possible incentives attracting talent to these companies, they are not the only reasons why they are on one of the most coveted lists in the business world.

One evident trait among these employers is they understand that talent comes in all shapes and sizes. These employers have a hiring policy that values diversity. They recruit based on the principle of equal opportunity for all - may the best person win the job.

It is not hard to understand why these great companies adopt these practices - it has become a tool for survival in the 21st-century business environment.

With talent becoming more mobile and scarce, diversity is no longer optional. Therefore, it is in the best interest of companies that they work towards this approach.

Take Starbucks Coffee as an example.

Jumping 21 notches on the Fortune list from 29th in 2006 to eighth this year, they recruit and select employees based on merit and welcome all qualified applicants regardless of personal attributes like race, gender, age, religion, disability and marital status. By observing fair employment practices, Starbucks strives to create a work environment that is conducive to attracting and retaining its talent. To be a non-discriminatory employer, firms need to apply consistent and fair selection criteria throughout all stages of the recruitment process. The criteria must be specific and relevant to the job requirements. Employers could state the experience, skills and educational qualifications required for the job.

Employers should, however, refrain from using age, race, language, gender, marital status and religion as selection criteria, as they are irrelevant to the job.

In cases where the job is physically demanding, employers should state clearly that the job entails candidates handling heavy loads.

While it is human nature to want to be surrounded by people we feel familiar and comfortable with, such behaviour should not be encouraged, as it is not effective or efficient in the business world.

The tight labour market has made recruitment a long and, at times, expensive process. It is not uncommon for employers to place several advertisements before they can fill a position.

With fair and merit-based hiring, employers cast a wider net to capture the potential talent and this increases the chances of hiring the best-qualified person for the job. Placing repeated recruitment ads is reduced, and opportunity cost is also trimmed, because the lead time is shortened while waiting for the new employee to come on board. And needless to say, such practices boost productivity because the talent can perform and deliver results with minimal training and the human resources department can focus on more strategic and productive issues instead of operational tasks.

Besides recruitment, employers should also be fair in remuneration. Pay should be reflective of the value of the work, performance and contribution of the employee and free from any subjective aspect such as age and gender.

Finally, employers should also have a fair and objective performance-appraisal system in place, to ensure that all staff are evaluated impartially and rewarded appropriately.

It may seem like a tall order to embrace fair employment practices, but with the population ageing and birth rate shrinking, employers can no longer rely on their old practices.

The sooner employers embrace fair employment practices and diversity, the better equipped they will be to handle the new set of business challenges.

Ultimately, the reward is a more competitive workforce hired based on talent, which in today's business environment allows a company to differentiate itself from competitors.

The author works for Singaporean-based GSI Executive Recruitment, one of the Asia-Pacific's leading search firms.

Josh Goh

Special to The Nation