I have a confession to make. I’m not a huge football fan. But my 12-year-old daughter is a natural Mia Hamm on the field. At weekends you can usually find me on the pitch side lines with the rest of the parents, so I can’t help but be drawn in to the wider football chat.
And it’s hard to ignore the football fever which has taken the Granite City by storm in recent weeks. But it wasn’t the league standings or the new silverware which caught my attention.
Instead it was how and when teams cultivated their talent. Some seem are like revolving doors, persuading players with dizzying amounts of zeroes to sport new colours before turning their attention elsewhere. Then there are players like Ryan Giggs, who was trained, developed and promoted through the ranks for the most recognised football brands in the world.
You see whether you live for Manchester United, support Man City or root for the hometown heroes they each have a recruitment strategy which can likened to how we operate within the oil and gas industry here in Aberdeen.
Historically in the oil and gas ranks, we’ve discussed, debated and decided on how and when to overcome the industry’s growing skills gap.
But a new hot topic has emerged in the form of the industry ‘talent poacher’.
It seems whether you’re at business breakfast, cocktail event or even the side of a football pitch, people are talking about the rise of talent poaching.
Industry leaders have even been quoted in the press asking for an end to the exaggerated salaries employees are offered in bid to tempt them away. Not only are the inflated salaries unsustainable but they do little to chip away at the skills gap.
So where does that leave us?
Right now the industry is very much a revolving door, but it doesn’t need to stay that way.
To build a business and brand, which employees identify with and remain loyal to even 20 years into their career, there’s a lot more to it than just the amount of zeroes you have on offer.
The fact is today’s emerging talent is looking for more than just the amount of cash in the bank they’ll get each month.
A visible career path and penchant for flexibility are worth their weight in gold. Couple that with a clear engagement strategy and companies soon gain the upper hand on the much talked about ‘talent poacher’. They also begin to curb the encroaching skills gap by training and the staff they do have to confidently step up the career ladder.
So when I’m back at the football pitch and everyone is discussing with whether Man U made the right move, I’ll subtly infer that isn’t it interesting that despite the club’s success or slump its players continue to stick around.
Dean Hunter is the managing director of Hunter Adams.
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