When I lived in a ski resort town in Idaho I was a volunteer member of the local fired department.  The fire department developed a policy that required new members to serve a probational year after which a firefighter who met certain requirements could begin to advance their medical and fire ground training beyond the core curriculum.  At first this policy felt like a glass ceiling because many of the new paid-on-call volunteers had a lot of energy, time and were motivated to learn as much as possible.  After inquiring about the process, I learned the rule had developed partly to comply with professional fire fighting standards but its real roots existed in the classic resort town struggle.  In earlier years volunteers were obtaining their Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification by joining the fire department in September and completing the course over the winter.  When the snow began to melt and the rivers ran high, some of the newly minted EMTs headed to work for the whitewater rafting companies.  Many of these companies required EMT certification or paid more if you had the training.  The volunteers had taken the course at the expense of the fire department and then bolted for the river.  After a couple years of developing frustration the fire department instituted the probational year as an assessment tool to quantify the aptitude and initiative of each member.  This is one method to ensure retention of your staff.

Alternatively, Seth Godin argues that if you hire exceptional people and provide a dynamic workplace retention will not be your issue.  Godin’s recent book Linchpins speaks at length about the old factory paradigm and how it is becoming obsolete.  He points to companies like Zapoos which are almost infectious with enthusiasm.  Places where the people do their best because of the their personal motivations, not because of a policy.

Both systems are in play.  The question is which one adds to your organizational culture?  Which one holds your best and brightest at a average pace that most everyone can achieve?

Are you training your competition’s employees?  Have you created a dynamic environment that attracts talented individuals?  Are your best people recruiting new employees for you?