Hiring and
Keeping the
Best People
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HARVARD
BUSINESS
ESSENTIALS
Harvard Business School Press
|
Boston, Massachusetts
Hiring and
Keeping the
Best People
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Copyright 2002 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
06 05 04 03 02 5 4 3 2 1
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photo-
copying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher.
Requests for permission should be directed to permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu, or
mailed to Permissions, Harvard Business School Publishing, 60 Harvard Way, Boston,
Massachusetts 02163.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Harvard business essentials. Hiringandkeepingthebest people.
p. cm.— (The harvard business essentials series) Includes bibliographical
references and index.
ISBN 1-57851-875-X (alk. paper)
1. Employee selection. 2. Employee retention. 3. Employee motivation. I. Title:
Hiring andkeepingthebest people. II. Harvard Business School. III. Series.
HF5549.5.S38 H37 2002
658.3'1—dc21
2002010627
The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the
American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Publications and
Documents in Libraries and Archives Z39.48–1992.
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Contents
Introduction xi
1 TheHiring Process 1
Attracting theBest People
Defining Job Requirements 2
Recruiting Promising Candidates 7
Interviewing 10
Evaluating the Candidates 21
Making the Decision and Offer 25
Don’t Forget Process Improvement 28
Summing Up 29
2 Beyond theHiring Basics 31
Details You Need to Know
Online Recruiting 32
When to Use a Professional Recruiter 38
Case Interviewing 40
Hiring Based on Embedded Personal Interests 42
Hiring for Microculture 49
Psychological Testing 52
Summing Up 55
3 KeepingtheBest 57
Essential Retention Strategies
Why Retention Matters 60
Why Retention Is So Challenging 66
Master Page A
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The Special Challenges of a Diverse Work Force 69
Why People Stay 75
Why People Leave 77
Two Retention Champions 79
Managing for Retention:An Overview 81
Summing Up 85
4 Market-Wise Retention 87
Competing in the War for Talent
Not All Employees Have Equal Value 88
Market-Based Retention Strategies 92
Summing Up 99
5 Developing the Talent You Have 101
Strategies for Training and Development
The Development Dilemma 103
Skill Training 104
Career Development 108
Handling C Performers 112
Summing Up 114
6 Workplace Factors That Affect Hiring
and Retention 115
Focusing on Culture
Consider Your Culture 116
Employee Burnout 119
Work-Life Balance 123
Summing Up 133
7 When All Else Fails 135
Keeping Talented Employees, Even After They Leave
Keeping Valued People in Your Orbit 136
Hiring Former Employees 139
Exit Interviews 141
Summing Up 142
vi Contents
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Appendix A: Sample Job Description 143
Appendix B: Targeted Interview Questions 145
Appendix C: Legal Landmines in Hiring 151
Notes 155
Glossary 159
For Further Reading 161
Index 165
About the Subject Advisor 169
About the Writer 170
Contents vii
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This Page Intentionally Left Blank
. 14 5
Appendix C: Legal Landmines in Hiring 15 1
Notes 15 5
Glossary 15 9
For Further Reading 16 1
Index 16 5
About the Subject Advisor 16 9
About the Writer 17 0
Contents. Performers 11 2
Summing Up 11 4
6 Workplace Factors That Affect Hiring
and Retention 11 5
Focusing on Culture
Consider Your Culture 11 6
Employee Burnout 11 9
Work-Life