Purple squirrels: Hiring the ultimate game changers
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the salient issues relating to the employment of Purple Squirrels. As the business world begins to undergo rapid change, to remain competitive business leaders must hire and retain extraordinary people – those who are supreme innovators and who are able to conceptualize and deliver real and lasting change. We refer to these people as Purple Squirrels, very rare individuals who are extremely talented with a multifarious mix of core skills. They also have an “X” factor that allows them to look at things differently and see opportunities where others might not. To achieve this mission-critical objective, conventional recruitment methods need to change. Competency-based methods may work well for junior and middle management, but when searching for the ultimate game changer – the supreme innovator – these methods are inappropriate.
Design/methodology/approach
Draws on the author’s research to provide an insight into the benefits of CRM.
Findings
This paper discusses the salient issues relating to the employment of Purple Squirrels.
Originality/value
It will benefit business leaders, hiring managers and human resources managers by improving their understanding of the changes in recruitment methods needed to attract and employ the people who are capable of driving meaningful and sustainable change.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
© 2014 Armadillo Consulting Group
Citation
Dumeresque, D. (2014), "Purple squirrels: Hiring the ultimate game changers", Strategic Direction, Vol. 30 No. 8, pp. 41-43. https://doi.org/10.1108/SD-08-2014-0098
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Authors