TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN EXECUTIVE TALENT:
WOO TO KEEP
" Hard to Win 'Em, Harder to Lose 'Em " -- you'd think it were a refrain out of Nashville but it's not...it's what we predict we will hear out of corporate America once again as it becomes increasingly hard to hire and retain top talent. Talent needs to be wooed, from the most senior down three or four levels, and then won for keeps. It's courtship...and many of the old rules apply.
Rules of courtship date back to the middle ages, to the 12th and 13th century, when the courts were formed and feudal lords learned the rules of chivalry that governed love and war. The main virtues of chivalry, such as honor, valor, courtesy and loyalty, were entwined with a code of conduct for love, subtly worked out in the courts of love in France and in Flanders. The ladies of the courts presided as love and honor were argued, and the troubadours, in their songs, spread these chivalrous ideals throughout Europe. "It was the subjective presentation of the lovers' passion for each other and their consideration for other people that transformed the code of courtly love into one of the most important literary influences in Western culture" 1 ...and into a permanent part of our culture.
So with some license, we would like to apply a few of the rules of courtly love to the corporate realm as a primer on wooing to keep. These are taken from the rules and advice of Andreas Cappelanus, a chaplain at the Court of Marie de Champagne, who, in 1185, wrote the most influential book on the art of courtly love, De Amore. 2
Countries, kingdoms and companies can only win by attracting the best.
THE RULES
Wooing:
1. Good character alone
makes a man worthy of love.
If a company has a fine reputation, it will draw good people. Is the company
still worthy of its reputation? Are its values in line with its successes?
2.
No one can love unless propelled by the persuasion of love.
People bond with people, not with companies. The person who does the interviewing
is the company, is the brand, and should be active throughout the entire
recruiting process. He or she should inspire confidence and trust and
be the person whom the candidate would want to follow. The person, through
character and language, attracts talent.
3.
A slight presumption causes a lover to suspect the beloved.
Do not presume...recognize the person. There is no stronger draw than
recognition, nothing that makes one fall in love more quickly. To be understood
for one's qualities creates a bond at the onset... and bonding at the
onset is vital.
4.
Be mindful completely to avoid falsehood.
The company must not withhold information from a potential candidate that
will become apparent and ruin that person's trust. The company must be
confident enough to admit its weaknesses, understand its challenges.
5.
Thou shalt not choose for thy love anyone whom a natural sense of shame
forbids thee to marry.
Never consider a hire if that person is not the best...if the values aren't
in sync, if the person does not have the ability or skill set to grow
within the company.
6.
A true lover is constantly and without intermission possessed by the thought
of his beloved.
Stay in close touch with the people who are candidates for the company.
Do not take too long in the interviewing process or in making the final
decision. Good candidates do not have a long shelf life. If there is not
an opening for someone who would be ideally suited for the company, keep
the relationship going. If possible, create a position to secure that
candidate.
Retaining:
1.
(Love) can endow a man even of the humblest birth with nobility of character.
It is in striving for the ideal that the company gains its character and
success. Its people mirror its character. The company and its people profit
by shared values, goals and endeavors.
2.
Thou shalt avaoid avarice like the deadly pestilence and shalt embrace
its opposite.
Greed at the top, to hold but not reward, quickly bleeds talent. The company
must reward those who deserve it...acknowledging their worth upon hire
and during employment. Recognition in the form of reward will both attract
and keep top talent. People leave when they feel their accomplishments
are not recognized.
3.
Nothing forbids one woman being loved by two men or one man by two women.
There's a lot of competition out there and the best people within your
company are being courted from outside. But if they're being properly
won, loyalty goes both ways, and more often than not, they will stay.
4.
Thou shalt in all things be polite and courteous.
One of the things we hear from an irate employee who leaves is, "You would
not believe how those people behaved." Bad manners have no place in the
workplace. They belittle employees, undercut accomplishments; they are
the death knell to loyalty...and loyalty is what commands a following
in the corporate realm.
5.
Love decreases, too, if (the) lover is cowardly in battle.
The company must have the courage to keep reinventing itself and challenging
its employees. It must take on its competition with confidence.
6.
If love diminishes, it quickly fails and rearely revives.
The company must keep the employees' trust and interests alive.
1 "Courtly Love", The Columbia Encyclopedia, eds. Barbara A. Chernow and George A. Vallasi, 5th Edition, New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.
2 Parry, J.J., The Art of Courtly Love (translation), New York: Columbia University Press, 1941.