Busy Executives Fail to Give Recruiting Attention It Deserves

Executives talk about how their most important job is finding and keeping the best talent. Unless they regularly recruit good people who can solve problems, originate ideas and inspire others, they can’t grow or compete effectively, they say.

Yet many are floundering at this task. When companies stopped hiring after the dot-com crash and economic slowdown, they also cut recruiting budgets. Meanwhile, managers had to do more work with fewer workers, and haven’t had time to keep their eye on potential hires at rival companies or on campuses. The result: at a time when they’re launching new products, entering new markets and needing new talent, many companies aren’t casting as wide a net as they should to find the best employees.

"There is so much pressure to complete day-to-day work that even when managers have the authority to expand their staffs, they don’t have the significant time it takes to identify and attract new candidates," says Gus Vlak, a partner at Katzenbach Partners, a New York consulting company.

By Carol Hymowitz

From The Wall Street Journal Online

Full Story: http://www.careerjournal.com/columnists/inthelead/20051128-inthelead.html?cjcontent=mail