Finding & Keeping Great Employees (Hardcover)

~ Jim Harris Ph.D. (Author), Joan Brannick Ph.D. (Author) "Everywhere we turn, we hear it..." (more)
Key Phrases: nonaligned companies, keeping great employees, staffing process, Cisco Systems, New York, Home Depot (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Harris (Getting Employees To Fall in Love with Your Company, AMACOM, 1996), who is involved in creating high-performance workplaces, and Brannick, a consultant and former human resources executive, here focus on the theme that company and employee values must match?that there must be common goals in order to create a productive work environment. Written for business and human resources professionals and based on research at 250 companies, this book underlines employee selection and retention as a strategic management function; identifies such important organizational principles as operational excellence, customer service, innovation, and spirit; and outlines a framework to fit any business or industry. While the concept of a shared vision as introduced by Peter Senge in The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (Doubleday, 1990) is not new, the emphasis on people and corporate culture as essential instruments of this vision is a logical outgrowth and worthy of exploration. Recommended for business collections.?Marilyn Rosenthal, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Hiring woes? Bag the Maalox and buy this book....There is at least one terrific--and frequently counterintuitive--idea on every one of its 208 pages." --Fortune

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; 1 edition (March 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814404545
• ISBN-13: 978-0814404546
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,342,776 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Guidance & Breakthrough Thinking, November 24, 1999

By	just plain bill "Mr. Bill" (Seminole, FL) - See all my reviews

In my work with line managers and other HR professionals, the things that are keeping them up at night are directly related to finding good people and keeping them. With labor shortages and knowledge gaps, I believe that this is the number one issue for HR professionals in the next decade. Jim Harris and Joan Brannick address this issue directly in a framework that gives the reader specific, implementable ideas to improve their staffing and retention efforts.

The breakthrough thinking in this book is establishing a clear link between corporate culture and staffing and recruiting efforts. The authors encourage readers to define their culture clearly, then be intentional about matching recruiting efforts and retention programs to the culture. By providing examples of best practices that match each of four basic organizational cultures (operational excellence, customer service, innovation, and spirit), the authors provide readers with practical guidance on how to align staffing and retention efforts with the cultures at their companies.

I found most helpful of all the guidance the authors provide on retention. In 25 years of work as an HR professional, I've found that the topic of retention is a lot like the weather - everyone talks about it, but nobody knows how to make it better! This book is different. The authors describe specific ways to influence retention and build a company where employees will want to stay. Immediately after reading this book, I went to work creating a retention plan built around nine specific management practices that will support my company's culture and foster retention. My counterparts on the company's leadership team are enthusiastic about the plan, and are actively at work implementing the management practices.

Finally, I recommend this book because it is well written. The authors avoid jargon and buzzwords. They speak from the heart about HR practices that will engage the soul and generate employee commitment.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS BOOK IS A "STALL BUSTER", March 31, 1999

By A Customer

We have tried ads, interviewing at colleges, postings on our Web site, word of mouth, and we are still stalled when it comes to FINDING AND KEEPING GREAT EMPLOYEES. I have visited Disney and The Ritz Carlton and I continue to be envious of their screening, training and culture. Disney's emphasis on safety at the parks and the Ritz Carlton's "We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen" are great examples of the need to match values. Even in these high turnover jobs, they lead in best practices and getting employees to take ownership. That message, well stated in this book, of the need to find a good match between employees and corporate culture is ever so important, particularly in this rapidly changing world. For example, the engineering company that always hired engineers may now find that they cannot succeed without superb finance people and really good communicators. The Tradition Stall would never allow them to hire an English major! Or, the firm that always used the same headhunters might never believe they could find better people on their own. That's the Disbelief Stall If you are really interested in developing better employees, you should also read THE 2,000 PERCENT SOLUTION, by Mitchell, Coles and Meets and encourage your staff to identify their stalls, and the company's stalls, and learn how to leap over them. A gift of FINDING AND KEEPING GREAT EMPLOYEES is the sixteen best practices of companies who have discovered the secrets. Use them as a guide and checklist. You will be glad you did

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book that every business owner should read., April 12, 1999

By A Customer

Whether your business is large or small, two employees or two thousand, this book is full of useful information. After reading it your next step is to read new book by Donald Mitchell and Robert Metz, THE 2,000 PERCENT SOLUTION. It takes you one or two steps further in thinking about how to make your organization a winner in the millennium. Be sure to read every word. It won't be difficult.