How good talent attracts even better talent

Nothing can be better for an organisation than having a team of high performers. It brings many benefits to the business including increased productivity, better performance and strategic growth in addition to an overall positive energy within the organisation.

However, there’s one more great benefit of having good talent and that is to attract more good talent to the organisation.

“A company that attracts top talent is often seen as a desirable place to work, and this can help attract even more high-quality employees,” says Ravi Chopra, senior HR leader & former group CHRO, Hero Motors Company.

“Having a team of high-performing employees creates a virtuous cycle, where one good hire attracts another and so on. This results in a company with a strong culture, high morale and a positive reputation.”

Ravi Chopra, senior HR leader & former group CHRO, Hero Motors Company

“Having a team of high-performing employees creates a virtuous cycle, where one good hire attracts another and so on. This results in a company with a strong culture, high morale and a positive reputation,” points out Chopra. High performers generate a sense of positivity and create good vibes within the workplace. These high-potential employees tend to infect others, who have latent energy, with their positive energy and disposition. The snowball effect thus created grows into a high-performing culture within the organisation.

High-performing employees spread the good word about the organisation’s culture beyond the workplace. They end up unknowingly doing their bit to help create an attractive employee value proposition or EVP for the organisation. This further helps the company attract and retain good talent.

Chopra opines, “High-quality talent also act as brand ambassadors for the company, always speaking highly about the culture during their interactions with customers and friends.”

“Another reason why quality talent attracts similar high-potential workers is because the perception created is that these organisations (that have good talent) respect great talent and that is why they’ve hired such people,” says Pallavi Poddar, CHRO, Fenesta Windows. The kind of processes that exist, and the kind of work that great talent do in an organisation motivate the existing ones to leverage and learn from them. Therefore, people really aspire to work in such organisations because they get opportunities to learn from the good talent.

“Another reason why quality talent attracts similar high-potential workers is because the perception created is that these organisations (that have good talent) respect great talent and that is why they’ve hired such people.”

Pallavi Poddar, CHRO, Fenesta Windows

The ace talent know why they are high potential. Hence, they assess people with a similar perspective as they are more evolved and mature. Therefore, they bring in more ownership, more competence and more knowledge. “Their understanding of business is much more, and their understanding of the raw function is better from the external perspective. Therefore, the  good talent also assess them the right way,” points out Poddar.

If the existing employees are happy with the company culture, benefits and growth opportunities, they may recommend the company to their friends and colleagues. “High-performing employees are often connected to other top performers in their network and may refer them to the company,” adds Ashish Pinto, CHRO, Nesco. This creates a positive cycle, where one good hire attracts another, leading to a company with a strong culture, high morale and a positive reputation.

Poddar believes that referrals are more like schemes that help in terms of getting more number of people. However, the good employees who are also engaged are the best combination as they are the big brand ambassadors of the organisation. They contribute even more when they talk very highly of the organisation and refer the organisation to their peers and to the industry.

“High-performing employees are often connected to other top performers in their network and may refer them to the company.”

Ashish Pinto, CHRO, Nesco

Poddar opines, “Good talent obviously possess the skills, required competencies and values that set them apart from the rest of the world. They will not recommend anyone who will adversely impact their image and value. They will only recommend quality talent with similar values that will help them grow the organisation or contribute significantly to organisational growth.”

Companies’ role in nurturing good talent

A company that offers opportunities for career advancement and professional development along with a supportive and motivating work environment, is more likely to attract and retain top talent. “Top talent not only need growth opportunities, but challenging opportunities, so that they can aspire to work in the right direction,” says Poddar.

“The HR department needs to create systems and opportunities around knowledge sharing, and provide learning platforms where high performers can share their success stories with others,” points out Chopra. The performance-management system (PMS) must also be aligned to motivate the high performers and take care of their recognition and growth within the organisation.

A team of high performers can create a positive cycle, where one good hire attracts another, leading to a strong company culture, high morale and a positive reputation. Together, these elements contribute to making the company a more attractive place to work. This, in turn, attracts even better talent.

Poddar also points out, “We have to start educating organisations on the importance of hiring the right talent. Great talent always comes at a premium. They may be expensive and they may have their own perceptions. Hence, managing them is not easy.” Organisations will have to work extra to manage the good talent. Such talent have more aspirations because they know that if they are in the market they can easily find opportunities or be lured.

It’s important for companies to value their ace-quality talent, by assigning them the right tasks and challenges. Organisations should also have the right philosophy and the right rewarding structure so that their star performers remain motivated and charged, and continue to aspire to do better.

“Good talent, when sufficiently motivated, acts as a role model within the organization and inspires other colleagues. They generate a sense of positivity and good vibe inside the workplace. Every company has talented employees inside. One can see them buzzing with energy and positive spirit and always standing tall above the rest. It is the primary role of a leader to identify this talent at an early stage and invest in them,” concludes Chopra.