I find interesting ideas for articles from the oddest places. The other day I read an article, “The Value of Poaching” by Alice Andors in HR Magazine about poaching employees from other companies. The author believes it is a good idea for companies to recruit the best talent from other companies, including their competitors.
It makes sense to me. Hiring managers often asked me to find someone from XYZ Company because a person with that experience would be immediately valuable. As long as there are no contractual legal problems, why not?
It got me thinking. How do companies know who the best employees to poach are? How can an individual make they visible as top talent?
The key is visibility.
Let’s say you have two employees working in similar jobs for the same company. Both are hard workers, coming up with clever innovations, and making themselves an asset to the company.
Employee A sticks close to home focusing all his energy on his work.
Employee B is active in professional groups and actively networking on LinkedIn. She belongs to a number of groups and comments frequently on interesting topics. She solicits information about work related technical problems from colleagues in LinkedIn.
Although both are similarly qualified, which employee is more visible to other employers and recruiters? Which employee would be more attractive to other employers?
The article asks whether some industries or jobs are more susceptible to poaching. The answer is not surprising. “It’s going to be more frequent when a person’s job performance is more visible and more easily observed.”
Of course it is. So Employee A who sticks closer to home is much less visible than Employee B who makes her performance “more public and more easily observed.”
What are you doing to make yourself more visible and desirable to those who can hire you?
Get out there and demonstrate why you are valuable!
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