"With great ideas, will it still be difficult to recruit and retain talent at the end of the year?"

In recent years, what enterprises talk about most is the difficulty of 'recruiting and retaining talent,' especially small and medium-sized enterprises, which face even greater challenges. Difficult? Why is it difficult? Where exactly lies the difficulty? Perhaps every company has its own reasons.

Jack Ma once said that employees leave for no other reasons than: either the money is not enough, or their feelings are hurt—everything else is nonsense. Enterprises must dare to face problems directly, without neglect or evasion, and identify the root causes—this is the right path to solving problems. Managers at all levels should truly recognize the severity of this issue, transform their mindsets, think actively, and have the determination and confidence to solve problems. As the saying goes, 'Nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets his mind to it.' The real 'difficulty' in 'recruiting and retaining talent' lies in the transformation of thinking and the spirit of pragmatism.

Let us further analyze the root causes of the problem. First, consider whether the enterprise is willing to treat talent as a resource and capital to be allocated, and whether it is willing to pay corresponding human resource costs according to market laws, rather than fixing compensation based on its own inherent thinking—otherwise, conflicts are inevitable, and of course, there will be difficulties. There was once an enterprise that wanted to introduce a senior engineer. After interviews and professional tests, they found an ideal candidate in all respects, but the process stalled because the candidate's salary expectations were relatively high. The reasons were that the supervising leader had various concerns: 'He just arrived and hasn't done anything yet, but his salary would exceed our director's,' or 'If the new hire's salary is this high, how should we balance the treatment of existing staff?' and so on.

Second, when facing various problems and difficulties, can senior management avoid neglecting or evading them, without making excuses? Are they willing to think carefully and actively seek solutions? In the case mentioned above, did the relevant leaders carefully consider and scientifically evaluate whether the introduced talent could help the enterprise create higher value? If so, why not offer higher compensation? The key issue is that many enterprises cannot reasonably and correctly evaluate an individual's performance value. Without clear evaluation standards or quantified indicators, they can only resort to subjective assessments using 'roughly equivalent' approaches. How can such practices recruit and retain excellent talent? Mindset determines the way out, and vision determines the格局 (pattern/scope). Nothing is difficult for those who put their hearts into it.

Third, the key to solving problems is to identify the root causes and apply the right remedies. Many enterprises emphasize talent stability, cohesion, and competitive compensation and benefits systems, yet still fail to solve the problems of recruiting and retaining talent. So, what other factors are at play? Generally speaking, the subjective factors for voluntary resignation are nothing more than these: pursuing a higher career platform, seeking higher personal value, or family/geographical reasons. Objective factors often include: dim corporate prospects, limited personal development, lack of visible career prospects, low compensation and benefits, strong feelings of unfairness due to unequal pay for equal work, poor superior-subordinate relationships or trust crises, and low corporate identity. The main reasons for involuntary resignation include: corporate bankruptcy or closure, being persuaded to leave due to inadequate capabilities, elimination due to personal quality issues, or ostensibly voluntary resignation that is essentially forced. Of course, it cannot be ignored that involuntary resignation may also be caused by the manager's own problems, such as narrow-mindedness, nepotism,or jealousy of the capable and virtuous.

Addressing the many factors mentioned above, it is necessary to propose some professional ideas and methods for enterprises to reference and discuss, in order to solve the difficulties and challenges of 'recruiting and retaining talent.'

1. Comprehensive Consideration in Recruitment and Hiring

1）Transform mindsets and clarify that 'recruitment aims to find the right person, not the realscheme person.' There is no need for overly strict restrictions on education, experience, or age. Focus on leveraging people's strengths and expand the scope of selection. Recognize that the right person is someone who can independently take responsibility and complete the duties and objectives of the position.

2）Clarify the company's positioning for the position to be filled, understand market supply and demand conditions, and grasp the compensation levels of similar talent in the relevant industry and region. Especially for senior management and professional technical talent, establish reasonable compensation and incentive systems.

3）Understand the enterprise's own advantages and analyze the demand characteristics of different talent levels. Do not blindly pursue 'tall, grand, and superior' or 'high, precise, and cutting-edge' talent. Both enterprises and talent should adhere to the principle of mutual selection—just like two parties in a romantic relationship, there must first be mutual attraction before further communication is necessary.

4）Identify special talent needs during specific development stages of the enterprise, and think creatively to solve problems without violating principles. Often, simply shifting the perspective of thinking leads to entirely different viewpoints.

5）Establish a talent strategy mindset for the enterprise. Regardless of the development stage, it is essential to clearly identify which are the enterprise's key positions, and develop A/B role backup plans for these positions. Simultaneously, build and cultivate talent pipelines at all internal levels—this is an important sign of a mature enterprise and qualified management.

2. Retention and Talent Development: Attention to Detail

A. Does the Human Resources Department Track and Manage New Employees?

1）Do they further communicate or gather indirect information to understand the true motivations or thoughts behind new employees joining the company?

2）Have they further understood new employees' personal goals? Is there a positioning for their career development? Have they helped with career planning?

3）Is there continuous tracking and contact during the probation period, especially in the first two months? Is there a practice or mindset of handing new employees over to the hiring department and then leaving them to fend for themselves?

B. Does the Hiring Department Sufficiently Value Training, Environmental Adaptation, and Living Issues for New Employees?

1）Are the job responsibilities, scope, and objectives of the position clear?

2）Do their work capabilities match the position requirements? Have suitable training and mentors been arranged?

3）Has the department provided care and assistance for their work and life, or is it only focused on work results?

4）Do new employees identify with the enterprise's management style and cultural atmosphere? Have they integrated into the enterprise's work environment?

5）Do new employees believe their value and contributions are proportional? Do they have higher goals and aspirations?

6）Do new employees perceive unfairness in systems or practices? Do they identify with the enterprise's incentive mechanisms?

7）Are new employees confident in the development of the company or themselves?

8）Do they feel obvious disrespect from managers in the team?

C. Has the Company Level Achieved the Following:

1）Establish a 'psychological contract' with employees, making them identify with the company's values and development goals, and enhancing employees' sense of belonging.

2）Establish a scientific and reasonable performance appraisal system, conduct regular performance interviews with employees; establish a fair, just, and competitive compensation system, regularly apply performance results, and fully consider the external competitiveness, incentives, and fairness of rewards and punishments of employee compensation.

3）Conduct career planning for employees, provide necessary on-the-job training and skill enhancement training, and establish a complete set of future-oriented career development plans.

4）Establish career promotion channels for professional and technical talent with equivalent compensation and levels to management positions, cultivate the spirit of craftsmanship in the enterprise, and realize employees' self-worth.

5）Establish backup personnel training plans at all levels within the enterprise, and expand channels for introducing key industry talent externally.

6）Build and promote a positive and energetic corporate culture, create a good interpersonal communication environment and atmosphere, and stimulate employees' creativity and work passion.

7）Value the management of departing employees, treat them as external think tanks, maintain contact with them, examine internal issues, and grasp industry market dynamics.

8）For employees who voluntarily resign for different reasons, consider establishing a rehire system after resignation, employing talent based solely on merit, without being constrained by convention.

With the development of economic levels and the renewal and iteration of the social talent pool, the problem of 'difficulty in recruiting and retaining talent' seems to have become a common challenge faced by enterprises. However, enterprises that struggle to recruit also struggle to retain talent, while excellent enterprises find neither recruiting nor retention difficult—the two complement each other. The external environment poses the same challenges to all enterprises, so the focus must remain people-oriented, concentrating on how to leverage their own advantages and build their own brand.

In conclusion, the essence of enterprise competition is talent competition. As the saying goes, 'Running water never grows stale, and a door hinge never gets worm-eaten.' To maintain competitive advantages in the fierce market competition environment, enterprises must maintain appropriate talent mobility. The key is to retain core management personnel, core technical personnel, and backbone talent essential for enterprise development, providing sufficient momentum and escorting the enterprise's entry into the fast lane of development.