With rapid advancements in technology and workforce standards, professionals must constantly adapt to new trends and protocols. As a result, recruitment and retention of a talented, flexible workforce has become critical to the growth and profitability of business organizations. Effective recruitment requires considerable resources to locate prospective hirees and assess how their backgrounds and skills will correspond with an organization's needs. The evolving and fast-paced nature of today's marketplace often does not afford organizations the time necessary to look beyond qualifications on a resume or answers given in a 30-minute interview. Instead, many rely on the expertise of recruitment firms and staffing companies to locate skills and talent that will contribute to an organization's lasting success.

When I founded my own healthcare staffing company 13 years ago, I was amazed by the immediate success of my earliest placements. One of my first assignments was for a management-level position with a large teaching facility in the Chicago region that was unable to locate the talent it desired from standard employment ads. The organization was looking for someone with industry experience who could easily adapt to change. Although I immediately identified a potential candidate who had the requisite qualifications on paper, I decided to wait a couple days before introducing her to my client in order to conduct the most thorough screening possible. The candidate was soon hired by the organization, and she excelled and remained there for more than three years. The success of this and subsequent placements was due to three key factors: a detailed assessment of the organization's needs, the pursuit of all available channels for locating good talent, and a comprehensive screening of all candidates' strengths and work styles.

Investments in recruitment always carry some risk of spending resources on new employees who may not contribute as much to the success of the organization as desired. However, thorough screening processes significantly minimize this risk and maximize profitability and growth for both the individual and the organization. This is the overarching goal of recruitment, and there are several strategies available to help ensure success. These include but are not limited to: evaluating past job patterns such as length of time and work habits in previous positions, identifying indicators of work ethic and integrity, screening personality traits that may either disrupt or enhance the organization's current culture and assessing skills and flexibility to change.

Recruitment efforts are further maximized by retention of talent. Organizations that contribute to the continuous growth of employees at all levels increase their internal stability and minimize unnecessary costs of high employee turn over. One of the most effective retention strategies is team building, and it is the best way to encourage innovation and enhance employee morale. To foster a productive team culture, management should strive to create an environment of inclusion that values personal differences and unique talents of all team members. Cross training in a variety of work and social skills such as communication, listening, sharing and respect can also be quite useful in bolstering organizational cohesion and growth. These initiatives require minimal investment from organizations compared to the unlimited rate of return they will see in their bottom line, quality of product and/or services and employee and customer satisfaction.

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