The labor shortage has set the recruitment engine running at full speed in many companies. But are new employees always the right strategic choice?

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Many companies are very busy and are currently in the midst of a massive recruitment drive. Employment is setting records, many people are changing jobs - and therefore competition for the best is fierce.

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However, in the midst of the recruitment race, it's important to remember that recruitment must also be linked to the long-term strategy.

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As a company, you need to ask yourself if the new employees can also help to fulfill the company's strategy in the long term - and not just fill a gap here and now.

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It's easy for companies to focus all their attention on the new employees. What can they do here and now? But it can also be wise to look inward and ask:

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Are we really unleashing the potential of the employees we already have so that they can help the strategy take flight? And how do you assess that? One approach is to look at employees in terms of four archetypes:

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1. The runner: The person who is not particularly happy with their job or the workplace itself - and who moves on quickly if something else comes along.
2. The security junkie: The person who stays in the job because it's easy to figure out and has no ambition to move.
3. The erratic: The person who is tired of their job but close to the workplace - and therefore often hard to count on.
4. The passionate: The person who loves both their job and their workplace - and therefore will walk through fire and water.

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The division above is both artificial and rigid, but can still give food for thought.

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Not everyone can be a passionate employee, but if you have many employees in groups 1-3, for example, there is a significant risk that the company's development will stall. Either because you spend a lot of effort on onboarding new employees who quickly disappear again - or because those who stay have no ambition for the company.

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At the same time, there is a risk that the new employees who are retained will become part of an unambitious culture and therefore not be able to contribute with innovation and development - even though they may have the potential to do so.

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Involve your employees

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There are no quick fixes. But one way to connect strategy, goals, employees and recruitment is to involve employees in the development of the company's strategic direction - as much as possible.

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Engaged employees always take more responsibility, are more committed and more innovative - because work becomes more meaningful. At the same time, even the best leaders recognize that they are rarely sharper than all their employees - combined. In this way, involvement also makes the strategy itself better.

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To put it bluntly, one could argue that part of the solution to the recruitment challenge is actually hidden in the way the company develops and works with its strategy.

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This column is published on Jyllands-Postens Finance and in Jyllands-Posten, Business on August 29, 2022.

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