There is much talk in the recruitment industry about the “War for Talent”, who’s winning it, and what they’re doing to make a difference. But with a booming global start-up culture, and many success stories akin to the Zuckerberg genre, the #TalentTussle is something many of us are now engaging in.

The majority of small companies in the UK last no more than 5 years, according to research. If you make it though, the rewards can far outweigh the risks. Aside from developing a valuable and unique product, businesses and entrepreneurs are focusing their energy on sourcing and securing the most talented people.

Now, competition is global; ideas evolve quickly, and people change jobs often. Millennials represent the majority of the workforce; their work history consists of recessions, restructurings and redundancies, so they haven’t developed a strong sense of loyalty to employers.

Companies need to deal with a society of free-agent-style employees born out of the economy they created. Some argue that the GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon) companies are “hoovering up all of the talent.” Others argue it’s not working for a GAFA company that’s the dream; it’s working for a start-up where you have many different jobs in flatter organisational structures. And then there are the unicorns, such as Uber and AirBnB, poaching talent from Silicon Valley’s giants. There are big draws to working for both if you know how to sell your company to the right people in the right way at the right time.

So how do you secure the best talent in this global, competitive and rapidly changing environment?

1. Know what talent wants: According to a recent EY study, flexibility is a core factor talent looks for in jobs, and one of the main reasons they leave.

2. Know what company culture to maintain to retain that talent: Organisational culture is when ‘The health of employee morale should be just as important as the health of the business.’

3. Know what message will help you attract that talent: Charles Fishman of Fast Company suggests ways to incite the greatest response from people:

• Winners like winners: High-performing companies with advancement opportunities.

• Big risk, big rewards: Challenging environment with risk but good compensation.

• Save the world: Inspiring missions and exciting challenges.

• Lifestyle: More flexibility and lifestyle benefits.

Keen to learn more?

Alice Weightman, founder and CEO of Hanson Search and The Work Crowd, will be speaking at The Club at The Ivy alongside industry experts Richard Houghton, Bindi Karia, and Elizabeth Kanter.

Join the discussion at #TalentTussle live on Twitter Tuesday morning (15 September 2015) between 8:15 and 9:15am (GMT).

How are you competing in the talent space? Have you had to adapt your approach to recruit or hold on to your best people?

Let us know in the comments!

In case you missed it, you can find the key take-aways and highlights discussed on our blog here.