Luke Allen | Why Your Company Must Proactively Seek Great Talent - 028

Dec 21, 2021

In today’s episode of Aligned, Sean is pulling a fan-favorite episode from the archives: his conversation with Luke Allen about how to attract, develop and retain talent. Luke Allen is the CEO of OHD, an international company specializing in inside sales, outside sales, and sales reps. 

The proactive attraction of talent is key.

• What if you lose someone who is a key player on your team right now? How do you replace that person without it impacting your business?
• Particularly for sales teams where each member has deep expertise in a topic, just one person’s departure can result in a point of failure.
• Assess your team to determine the different roles and then proactively build a network of other key people who fit your culture and expectations. 
• Begin the work of finding great people, even if you don’t have openings at that time. 

Don’t wait until you’re hiring to begin the search.

• Stay in touch with people you interviewed but couldn’t hire. Develop relationships with them because they can become valuable assets later down the line.
• By developing relationships with star performers, even if they don’t work at your company, you’re setting a precedent and company culture that respects and fosters good talent. 
• Identify the financial, personal, and strategic pains people have, and use those in your hiring. Focusing solely on financial pain is a mistake.
• People want to know before they sign on how you’ll develop them and further their career aspirations, so communicate that upfront. 
• If your people don’t talk to you about their lives, that’s a blind spot you can’t protect your business from. 

By anticipating changes in staffing, you can avoid additional costs, consultancies, and downtime due to vacant positions. While this process will never be perfect, limiting last-minute scenarios is an excellent practice for any company to adopt.

“Proactively Seek Great Talent” episode resources:

• Aligned is a podcast for executives of emerging middle-market companies and executives pursuing growth and looking for new levers to pull. 
• To connect with Sean Doyle, find him on LinkedIn, or learn more about FitzMartin on the company web page. 
• You can connect with Luke Allen on LinkedIn.