How to Become an Employer of Choice Roger E. Herman and Joyce L. Gioia Oakhill Press, Winchester, VA (2000) At a time of intense and increasing competition for talented workers, Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia give us the benefit of their insights into the advantages of being an employer of choice and how to become one. Book Review © Dr. Terry J. van der Werff, CMC

Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia are experts on the workforce, workplace dynamics, and best practices of successful companies.  They are also my good friends and colleagues in FutureSpeak.  They have written a wonderful book for any company or organization that wishes to be an employer of choice, particularly relevant today when the array of employment options for any worker is vast.  The authors continually remind the reader, this choice is not just a single decision made when joining a company, but an ongoing series of decisions to remain thereafter as their careers develop.

What are the benefits to the company of being an employer of choice?  Herman and Gioia list many, of which the following are a sample:

 

	Easier recruitment of new employees from an enlarged pool of better prospects..
	Enhanced loyalty leading to reduced turnover.
	Greater efficiency and effectiveness on the job leading to higher profitability.
	Stable knowledge base.

Herman and Gioia describe many key characteristics of companies they consider to be employers of choice, covering the familiar litany of characteristics of high performance organizations, such as empowering workers at all levels; stressing high quality; emphasizing customer service; being good corporate citizens in their communities; rewarding results; and having rich communications internally.  These boil down to two overriding characteristics (my words, not the authors'): (1) they care for their people as individuals and (2) they articulate clearly the future they are going to create together.

For companies wishing to become employers of choice, Herman and Gioia outline a five step process:

1. Define for your own company what being an employer of choice would look like.
2. Assess how you currently match up with this aspiration.
3. Sell your employees on the value of becoming an employer of choice.
4. Adjust your hiring practices to fit this desired company culture.
5. Benchmark yourself against characteristics of other employers of choice.

How to Become an Employer of Choice is attractively designed.  I particularly liked the scores of sidebar examples of what real companies and organizations do to make themselves more attractive to their employees.  Each chapter has notes and references, but inexplicably the "Recommended Books" at the back left off details of publishers and dates.

If you would like to be an employer of choice or to work for one, this is a solid book that can point the way.

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For convenience, you may order this book from:     amazon.com    Borders    Barnes & Noble

 

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