How to Build a Business Others Want to Buy

Chapter 14How to recruit a world-class team

I won't lie. It's hard to find good staff, and as the global war for talent gets hotter, it's going to get even harder. The cost of hiring the wrong person, particularly in a senior role, is huge. Some say a ‘mis-hire’ costs 200 per cent of a salary. You don't want to get that wrong too often.

So, what does it take to attract the right staff? What do people look for in a job? Despite popular opinion, it's not just a large pay packet, flexible conditions and time off to attend a ‘save the climate’ rally. It's much more than that.

Frederick Herzberg was an influential clinical psychologist in the 1950s. He was interested to see what particular work elements made people feel exceptionally good or bad about their jobs. He conducted a large-scale survey to find out. The results were illuminating.

He found that certain job factors consistently created employee job satisfaction, while others created job dissatisfaction. He called it the ‘Two Factor’ theory. In short, there are ‘motivating factors’ (job satisfiers) and there are ‘hygiene factors’ (job dissatisfiers). To be an employer of choice, you need to offer both.

Hygiene factors (job dissatisfiers)	Motivating factors (job satisfiers)
Company policy	Achievement
Supervision