Human resources are one of the most important assets of any organisation, playing an indispensable job in its survival and growth. American author Lawrence Bossidy rightly remarked, “I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day, you bet on people not on strategies.” This particular phrase addresses two vital functions of human resource management – acquisition and retention.

         Acquisition is the process of inducting new talent into the organisation. On the other hand, retention aims at holding on to the existing employees and reducing attrition or employee turnover. What transpires behind these functions? Which of these is more important? Read on to know.

HOW TO ACQUIRE AND RETAIN?

         Talent  acquisition involves activities like forecasting future human resource needs, formulating roles and job description, attracting suitable candidates and onboarding them into the enterprise. The HR team must be able to predict the number and type of vacancies that may arise, communicate the need to prospective employees through various media and select the right people for the right job. Acquisition ensures bringing new blood into the organization and staying competitive. Also, choosing the right person reduces the cost and efforts of training.

         Retention comes after acquisition. The current human resources need to be retained within the organization to ensure smooth functioning. This is usually done through competitive compensation, recognition, flexible work hours and involvement in decision-making, to name a few. Retention ensures the future leadership of the organization and reduces the cost of recruiting new employees.

WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT?

         Can and should a HR manager prioritize one over the other? Even though there are some views stating that the priority depends on the type of organization, most HR leaders accept that both are equally important and go hand in hand. Good retention strategies help in attracting new talent and similarly, new resources must be acquired to meet growing demand and to bring in fresh perspectives to the enterprise.

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