One of the top 5 recommendations in the 2009 Guidance from the Corporate Executive Board is to “Use Today’s Crisis to Court and Cultivate Tomorrow’s Winners.” And, if you are not making “opportunity hires” you are missing a golden opportunity to upgrade your workforce. An “opportunity hire” is when you set out to fill a position, but in conducting that search, you find someone so good, you cannot pass up the chance to hire them as well. At Staffing Advisors we have never charged anything for an “opportunity hire” – rather, we encourage it. (If you engage search firms, this would be a good time to negotiate with them to give you the ability to do the same).
A recent article in the Washington Business Journal highlighted the unique approach Staffing Advisors used to help the National Park Foundation make two critical hires, one targeted hire and one opportunity hire. As the economy begins to rebound, your window to take action is narrowing. Many employers will look back on 2009 as the year they spent needlessly worrying instead of hiring the people who could fuel their growth.
Posted by Bob Corlett 
