Attracting Global Talent

With developed markets expected to grow at slower rates next year, many smart companies are looking to build their investments in emerging markets. One of the key success factors in this global investment is attracting and retaining talent in the markets you want to serve. Drawing on the diverse global talent pool enables market penetration efforts, gives companies access to significantly more and often more skilled talent, and may provide access to equally qualified but less expensive talent profiles.

However, Western companies no longer have the clear advantage in the global talent market that they once had, even with the current recession. In fact, the weakened job market can make hiring tougher for companies, and makes it more critical that your company hire and keep the right people.

This series will focus on how you can sharpen your company’s ability to attract and retain talent on a global scale.

Attracting Global Talent – Part 1: Why Employee Value Propositions Matter on a Global Scale

Increasingly companies are recognizing the importance of a strong employee value proposition (EVP) in hiring and retaining talent. When entering a new talent market, or building your presence there, it is especially important to define and leverage the power of your EVP.

What is an EVP?

An EVP is the set of attributes that the labor market and employees perceive as the value they gain through employment with your company. Because the EVP is a perception, it is extremely important to actively manage it. But before you put a lot of effort into defining, shaping and promoting your EVP, here’s why having a strong EVP matters in the first place.

How a strong EVP helps your company

• It attracts talent. In the current talent market, it’s tempting to think that if you post any job, that dozens of the right kind of candidates will just show up. Chances are hundred or thousands of people will show up, making it harder to find the right person. A well-defined and attractive EVP will increase the size of the talent pool, but it also makes it more likely that the right candidates will seek your company, resulting in candidates who are more apt to be a better fit.

• It increases commitment. When your company delivers on an attractive EVP — meaning employees have joined and receive what they were promised — those employees are much more committed and more likely to stay. Our research shows that excellent delivery on your EVP can yield a workforce where 38% of new hires display the highest levels of commitment. By contrast, organizations with poor delivery of the EVP typically have less than 10% of new employees who are highly committed to the organization after one month of employment.

• It saves money. Employers with a more attractive EVP have to pay potential employees less in order to get them to join. Essentially, organizations that have less attractive EVPs pay a premium. When you are entering a new labor market, these savings can be critical to building your presence and a strong EVP helps set a pay level that will allow you to continue to save.

• It gives you a leg up. Organizations that effectively deliver their EVP have twice as many highly committed new hires as the average organization. The bad news is that few employers are effectively delivering a valuable EVP. In the average organization, less than half of employees agreed that the organization delivered a strong EVP. The good news is that this represents a huge opportunity for your organization to get it right and win and keep the right talent.

Also read Part 2 – How to Attract Talent Across Different Geographies, Part 3 – Avoid Common Pitfalls when Marketing Your Company to Global Talent , and Part 4 – The Role Your Employees Play in Attracting New Talent