Having Trouble Finding Good People?

* Consider compensation programs as incentives to keep your best people, or risk losing them to competitive offers. Long-term incentive compensation is necessary for anyone at the VP level you want to keep.

* People work for people, not for companies. They work for bosses they like and respect. So if you’re the boss, make sure you’re one of the good ones. Also, evaluate your managers on their abilities to grow their direct reports.

* Most of all, think seriously about the real value of having the right person in the job. I suspect you’ll find that a $200K/year salary for a VP who can propel your business forward is relatively insignificant vs. the missed market opportunity. Remember the old adage, “Pay peanuts, get monkeys.”

Have a recruiting issue you’d like to discuss? E-mail me at TJukes@b2bdmi.com and/or post your comment on this site.

Terence Jukes is president of B2B Direct Marketing Intelligence Inc., a strategic consultancy based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., that services clients in the U.S., Canada, France, the U.K. and Germany. You can reach him at www.b2bdmi.com or (954) 566-4451.