Does it sound familiar now? Remember when you saw a co worker leave for another company because they said they’d pay him a few dollars above scale? Perhaps you are the guy who left for that extra money. Maybe you’ve been approached by another company with an offer but you chose to stay where you were at. It could be that you went to work for that money but discovered the grass wasn’t as green as promised.

Can you recognize it? All of those examples are headhunting in action. Companies are ALWAYS looking for talent and those who are willing to pay can attract top people.

Now this does bring up a point of contention with job satisfaction; that is, there are some jobs that despite the high amount of money which can be earned, the atmosphere is toxic enough it doesn’t matter.

Baring this, though, what is it about headhunting that is so attractive – for both those doing the seeking and those who are sought? I want to look at it from three different perspectives: the company who is doing the headhunting, the person who is being pursued, and the company which loses out. They each have different perspectives and look at this process in a different light; depending on who is doing it, of course.

Starting out, let’s look at the company that is doing the headhunting.

 

The Company That Headhunts

 

What is it about headhunting that is so attractive? After all, since a company is willing to pay, wouldn’t it be prudent for them to simply pay those who work for them better, grooming those individuals for what they need? To be sure, this process is done industries over. Companies mine talent from colleges to apprenticeship programs, identifying potential management and leaders early on, and train them. The thing is, though, for many companies that simply isn’t enough. What’s more, and this isn’t a slight against those who stay with a company for years on end, but those who a company can recruit via headhunting often possess more experience. As one can imagine, this adds to the desire for a company to want to recruit someone like that – as I have written elsewhere, experience CANNOT be replaced and the wider the variety, the more tools in your bucket.

So we come full circle to our initial question: why do companies headhunt? They get seasoned, experienced, and trained personnel that first, they couldn’t produce on their own and second, they couldn’t afford to produce anyway. The first is readily understandable: you gain more experience in working different industries, various job sites, projects, and fields. They can’t afford to produce people like this because they have to leave to gain this type of experience and therefore they lose people. It’s rather simple, all things considered. My curiosity led me to inquire the average amount of time Americans stayed at their job and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is a paltry 4.2 years. While not the sole reason, headhunting is a big contributor – and will only grow in a tight labor market.

You see, while companies may not have a track for emotional intelligence and its many facets, they understand, in a small part anyway, experience. I’ll argue in one instance they value it because they seek it out and on the other hand they don’t – and this is evident by the increased hiring of higher level positions straight out of college. Often both of these practices can be exemplified from within the same company! The way some people think is fascinating and confusing all the same.

I also discuss emotional intelligence in this article, albeit briefly:

I’ve seen companies actively recruiting experienced hands in the field and more so foremen, general foremen, and superintendents. Outside of the shortage of skilled labor in the country, the other side to the coin is the retirement of baby boomers, currently taking place at a rate of around 10,000 a day. That’s a lot of jobs becoming vacant. Unless you live under a rock, you’ve experienced not only the skilled labor shortage but its exacerbation by the retirement of baby boomers.

The gray wave is indeed upon the country – and just about every industry is affected one way or another.

Another reason I find a company headhunts is simply that they did not pay for the training and experience honing – they merely get to reap the benefits of someone else who did. They can come along, offer an enticing wage package aimed at planting a seed in someone’s mind, and water it faithfully.

From my experience, this doesn’t happen in a vacuum, either. Oftentimes, this is done from a personal perspective. That is to say people are typically approached by those they know and people leave to work with people they know. That may be a broad brush but the canvas is as big as a barn. The reason? The more comfortable a person is the less likely they are to up and leave from where they are at. For that matter, I know plenty of guys who stay where they are and they’re not happy. Who ever coined “comfort is the enemy of progress” hit the nail on the head.

All of that – and more – should help us understand the company that headhunts.

 

The person being pursued

 

I had a conversation with a friend of mine sometime back who called and asked if I wanted a job where she works. I admit, it is always nice to be sought after. After some of the specifics were discussed, I asked if this is what women feel like when being pursued. “And you didn’t even have to put on lipstick,” came her quick reply.

Flattery will get you everywhere I tell ya.

I know all too well what it is like being pursued; that is, I know what it is like for other companies to attempt to recruit you from the employment of others. I have been asked numerous times and over the course of my career I’ve taken three opportunities. Regrettably, the grass was not a green as I thought it was the first time. The second, however, was worth the move. The third – well, time will tell. Time has told: it was one of the best professional moves I could have ever hoped to have made.

In the above instances, I’m glad I took advantage of them because lessons were learned and improvements were made. In the end, I’d prefer to think later in life “I shouldn’t have done that” as opposed to “I wonder what could have been if I had made a different choice.” In other words, many of us live in the land of “what-if” and the real-estate is abundant. Screw that place.

We are often haunted by our poor choices – but even more so by the choices we didn’t make.

What is it exactly that makes a person susceptible to headhunting? What conditions need to be present, what offers need to be made, what jobs are on the line, and what environments need to be ripe? These and many more come into play but from those I’ve conversed with as well as my own experience I believe there are a few things more important than others, discussed below.

 

Money talks

 

The overwhelming majority bow the knee to the almighty dollar. Money talks – and we all know this. I know guys who jumped ship for a dollar – which equals $2,080 more a year – hardly a selling point in my opinion.

I know some who have left to run work – “a buck and a truck” as it’s commonly coined (although the money is many times $2.00 – $4.00 more an hour AND full use of the company truck). That equates out to be $4,160 – $8,320 extra a year AND the truck. Now we’re getting somewhere. Many a man has been enticed by the money and jumped ship.

Personally, another dollar wouldn’t give me extra thought but $4.00 or more? It’s time to pause for reflection a moment. Yet, as often is the case with many, money isn’t the ONLY reason people elect to leave. Other conditions (often coupled with money but not always) are what captures their attention.

 

Opportunity

I know guys who drag up (that means quit for those not in the skilled trades) to go work certain jobs. I’m reminded of a job where a Manitowac 21,000 was on a job and a guy drug up to go run it. “He couldn’t pass up the opportunity,” he later told me. I can’t say I blame him either; I worked with it, too, and that thing was MASSIVE.

Manitowoc 21,000 – The biggest crane I’ve had the opportunity to work around

 

I know plenty of guys who up and left for other opportunities. History will reveal whether they were good moves or not, but many men follow those great jobs, – the once in a lifetime jobs, the ones that gain you some glory. I’ve seen it time and time again. As Solomon said, there really is nothing new under the sun.

Other forms of opportunity come to mind here, too; chiefly the opportunity to run work. Sometimes a guy needs a fresh start to get others to look at him in a different role other than a hand. This happens more than we are likely to recognize, too. All those times a person didn’t live up to their best rears its ugly head when they want more – and the opportunities pass them by.

If your reading this, you know someone this has happened to. Perhaps it happened (or is happening) to you. Either way, many choose to find newer pastures for a fresh start and new opportunities.

 

Better benefits

Benefits as a consideration will play a HUGE part going forward

 

Better benefits usually play a bigger role in the white-collar world. Often coupled with higher pay, the duo are the recruiting go to for many headhunters. Aside from this, the skilled trades (unions) benefits are set and extra benefits are not something we see much of.

But I think that will change, though, as we begin to feel the tight labor market in the trades. The industry will have to change things up. Gone are the days where complacency and laziness were the norm and worked.

In any case, better benefits is a reason some elect to leave and it’s worth noting.

For example, I know guys who took a government job precisely because of the benefits – more paid time off in most cases. To each his own and whatever attracts them.

I know other guys who were enticed with supplemental retirement benefits. Others were won over to the other side because of better insurance (I’m dabbling in management now). Still others were given more time off and use of a company truck.

A quick google search can reveal a host of benefits companies tout and why people leave for brighter shores. Coupled with more money, they are often the selling points, indeed.

 

Better conditions

 

We would be wise not to dismiss better working conditions as an important reason guys elect to leave when pursued. With the current and projected to grow skilled labor shortage, companies would be wise to not dismiss treating their employees with respect and taking care of their most prized resource.

Company culture will be MASSIVELY IMPORTANT going forward.

This article suggests those treated with respect are more apt to be loyal to the companies employing them. What’s more, we intuitively know this to be true – we don’t need empirical evidence to tell us this – although it is nice to have that in the weapons arsenal. We’ve all seen guys drag up because they were treated poorly – or perhaps it has happened to us. Either way, when conditions are not optimal the atmosphere is is ripe for headhunting.

***NOTE: There is one caveat though: companies would do well to not lean on just this for employee retention. I personally know of a company that has a great culture, is admired for their safety record and efforts, and the people who work there are genuinely happy. They are, most of them anyway, comfortable. Still, they have an employee retention committee to determine why employees leave. I’ll bet you don’t even have to guess the number one reason why people leave: money. You see, while they have a great workplace culture, the pay is, in many cases, not commensurate with the level of responsibility or what others make at other companies.

What’s more – internally, they know this. Things still roll on, though, and they are able to weather on but it’s telling when people leave. It may not be a revolving door but it’s enough to raise some flags.

With the shortage of skilled labor continuing to grow, companies are weighing comfort against pay – and while sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s unfortunate there are so many talking heads on LinkedIn and elsewhere who are beating the drum “people stay where they are respected.” They are right – but it’s not the whole picture.

Just call me Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men, because companies “can’t handle the truth.”

While I commend companies on providing better work conditions for their employees, don’t do it at the altar of lower wages. Experienced people are hard to find – those who are very good – doubly so. It must be frustrating for companies to have a revolving door (albeit slowly) of good people trickling in and out, beefing up their resume, and ultimately leave – citing money as they are leaving their exit interview.***

 

Other reasons

Wait – there are MORE reasons?

 

Let’s be honest: sometimes there are outlying reasons people elect to leave their employment for another company. They don’t always fit into the nice and neat packages we’ve outlined.

I know guys who just wanted a change of pace. I know guys who almost never stay with companies for a long time, preferring a change of scenery every now and then. I know some who simply felt their time at the company had run its course and they saw the writing on the wall. Still others didn’t like the direction their employers (or new employers when a company is bought out) were heading and elected to get ahead of the change. Some guys wanted to work closer to home. Others wanted to do different kinds of work. The reasons are almost limitless. True, some of these lesser known reasons are less likely to be the ones management hold (foremen, general foremen, superintendent, safety managers, project managers, etc.) when they elect to leave but to simply gloss over them would be an incorrect assessment on the landscape.

When any of the above and others not mentioned are present, it adds to increased headhunting, of that there is no doubt.

 

The company that loses out (headhunters recruited from them)

Companies who lose people to headhunters are lost in a sense

 

Lastly we come to the company which loses out. In the headhunting process, they are the ones who lose the employee and have to make arrangements they otherwise didn’t have to. The higher up in management the employee was, the greater the loss, and with the skilled trade shortage, make no mistake: it can hurt.

Sometimes a company can correct course and counteroffer the employee thinking of leaving. I know one guy who left a company as a Project Manager to be a Construction Manager someplace else. Their counteroffer before he left? 25% more money and remote work 3 days a week. Read that again and recognize what a counteroffer that was. Making $65,000? at 25%, you’re sitting at $81,250. If you made $75,000? Now you would make $93,750. Pulling in $85,000? Now you’re hitting $106,250. Yea, that’s a SOLID counteroffer.

Yet, in the end, he elected to leave for better benefits (more flexibility and time off) and a more consistent and predictable schedule (think less overtime because of family – even though he was salary).

Quite frankly, there are some instances where headhunting will be successful despite a company’s best efforts; there is nothing they can do. Sometimes everything can be in place and headhunting is still effective and the company who is stripped of a good employee takes a hit. They have lost a stellar employee, probably years of investment and training, they know the operations, and more than likely they will have trained a competitor. In this exchange, someone is the loser and this company is it.

There is one thing I’d like to point out before we feel sorry for this company, however, and that is EVERY company headhunts; it’s just a matter of how much. If they say they don’t they are either incompetent or lying. The positives, if successful, are far more beneficial than the losses and many companies will want to attract top talent any way possible. Besides, if a company headhunts and you are a victim, why would you not partake too? It’s ludicrous to think some companies would not capitalize on opportunities to recruit EXPERIENCED candidates.

 

Conclusion

 

Gone are the days of a person working at a company for their entire career. In its place is the era of headhunting and opportunity. There are a number of reasons for this and a comprehensive review of them is not the intent of this article. Rather, it is prudent to recognize the times we find ourselves in and act accordingly.

This goes for all three of the principle actors above: the company doing the headhunting, those who are pursued, and the company that loses out. For the first two, it’s business as usual, and the process will continue for decades to come. The company that loses out though, they have lost something indeed. They would do well to evaluate and ensure they are doing what they can to not simply attract top talent but retain what they already have. Offering a counteroffer to keep someone from leaving? It’s likely the tone was set sometime back – when it could have been prevented. Sometimes this is true and sometimes it isn’t. But only you would know.