According to a recent article in The Vancouver Sun, November 18, 2006 you need to think personal, not personnel. That's the word from KPMG's chief human resources officer, Beth Wilson.  " The most important way to attract the best and brightest employees is to recognize the importance of individual differences and to focus on their culture, programs and policies in a way that will be flexible and support those individuals as they develop through their career.  That's hard to do, but there aren't enough companies doing that right now."

And KPMG should know what they are talking about when it comes to attracting and retaining talent as this year, for the fourth time, they have been named as one of Canada's top 100 employers.  According to Wilson one of the areas that can put companies ahead of the pack when attracting and retaining employees is the building of relationships within the workforce.  "There is a significant difference from the the older generation," said Wilson.  "A lot centres around individuals and relationships.  They're really looking for an individualized employment experience.  They want to connect with the people they work with.  Is someone focused with helping them with their career development, coaching, getting good career feedback, etc?"

"These issues are important", she states, "because there is a war for talent and knowledge workers can go wherever they want. Unless you are seen as an employer of choice you won't attract or retain the kind of people who will develop and execute the business strategy that puts you ahead of the pack.  You will meet fewer knowledge workers and they will have more choices."  

High Performance Employees couldn't agree more with her assessment.  Jeff Campbell, President of High Performance Employees, thinks that Beth Wilson got it exactly right. "That's why we offer such revolutionary new products  such as our "Make your Company An Even Better Place to Work" Relationship Management Service. Check it out for yourself. It's one of the most unique and cost effective HR tools to diagnose the state of the relationships in your organization.  If you want to resolve workplace conflict in your business or organization then try it and you'll be amazed."