Blog Post: In Recruiting, Go for the Gold, Seek Out the Copper, Skip the Flakey Stuff

Martha I. Finney, president and CEO of Engagement Journeys, LLC., helps companies attract and keep high-passion, high-performing talent. For a sample chapter from her new book, The Truth About Getting the Best From People, email her at Martha@marthafinney.com  For a complete collection of all her extended HR blog postings, including “Why I Love HR,” visit her site Paths to HR Greatness.

First of all, don’t get me wrong. As individuals, everyone is gold. We’re all here on this planet, equipped with unique gifts and abilities to make the world a better place (if not for the world at large, at least for ourselves and our loved ones). Also, again, don’t get me wrong: I’ve got nothing against copper. Believe me, I visit Williams-Sonoma – either in person or lusting in my heart – far more often than I see visions of Harry Winston dancing in my dreams. Just take a gander at my kitchen. And compare it with my pitiful, dusty jewelry box. You’ll see.

What I’m talking about here is organizational gold versus copper. Every company that intends to actually hit its objectives must have, keep, take care of its organizational gold – those rare individuals who bring the real value that distinguishes the company from its competitors. But, let’s face it, organizationally mind you, most companies are mostly made up of copper – fabulous, gleaming people of productivity. Beautifully functional, maybe a little tarnished, battered or even hammered (which is why God made EAPs).

When it comes to organizational copper, you need a lot of it, all shapes and sizes, all functions and skills. You’re constantly on the hunt for more – either acquiring new pieces or replacing those that got away somehow. That’s actually a good thing, because, if recruiting is your job, that’s how you earn your living. Copper is good. Copper is essential.

But. I have seen over and over again in companies that in their pursuit of copper, they completely overlook the essential value of the gold they already have on hand. They either mistake it for copper and treat it carelessly – expensive to replace but definitely replaceable. Or they somehow have decided that gold is a dime a dozen (or ounce) and copper is the thing. Gotta get that copper. Copper copper copper. Doesn’t grow on trees, you know. Can’t be picky about that copper. Bring that copper in, we’ll sort it all out once it’s in the house.

Result? If you focus on and value your copper so much that you take your gold for granted, you lose the essential people who bring the deep, enduring, long-lasting, ever appreciating value to your company.

So, who’s gold? Not necessarily your CEO or CWO (Chief Whiz-bang Officer). Your gold employees are the ones who have been with the company forever, and who eagerly grow their skills and knowledge sets to keep up with the times, who take its mission deeply personally, who may be so passionate or geeky about the company’s day-to-day concerns that they might make other people a little uncomfortable. They’ve stuck with the company through thick and thin, even when it might have meant taking personal financial, health, or relationship risks. They know and love your customers. And your customers know and love them. They go above and beyond the call. And sometimes they’re really hot under the collar. But their anger isn’t for their own sake, it’s for the company’s well-being.

It’s easy to take these people for granted because they’re already onboard and you’ve seen them every day for years. Plus, let's face it, they can be really annoying -- especially when you see them on the way to your office. But they are the most precious of all your people. Do everything you can to keep them. To borrow from Benjamin Franklin: A golden employee saved is 50 copper candidates recruited.

One final thing, just in case I haven’t driven this metaphor into the ground enough yet: You’ve got copper. Good. You’ve got gold, and you know who they are. Great! Now do you know who the fool’s gold is? Those are the people who come in with shining resumes, with a blow-your-socks-off list of former employers. They are bright and beaming and grinning from ear to ear. Somehow you always feel just a little better for having spent a few minutes with them. But after that initial glow wears off, there’s that lingering perturbed feeling that you just can’t put your finger on.

Things don’t quite get done. But all the news is good. They know who to flatter, but as they move through the rest of the company they create a wake of hurt feelings and resignation letters. They haven’t kept up with their reading, and so they still believe that the way to succeed is to dominate, prevaricate and obfuscate. You find that your gold people are finding jobs elsewhere, taking their gold coworkers with them.

In your rush to fill the ranks with copper and gold, you put yourself at risk for filling critical positions with fool’s gold. What’s the hurry, especially if the outcome is disengaging trouble among your truly valuable people, and then expensive terminations and then a fresh round of recruitment? Leave that position empty until you find just the right person. A friend of mine who once led the people function of a famously engaged company puts it this way, “I’d rather have a hole than” well, a different kind of hole.

Scratch the surface of gold and you’ll get gold through and through. Same with copper. But there’s something about fool’s gold that won’t bond with copper or gold. And it falls apart at the slightest bit of pressure. Fill your company with fool’s gold, and I guarantee you: You’ll eventually have just a company of flakes.