£500k Salary bottleneck 🍾 Sat down with a Global Head of Talent for a major PLC who find it hard as nails to recruit £500K leadership positions.... A couple of things struck me...

They were impressive. The business was impressive. 

PLC behemoth with deep pockets, clear mission, clear vision of how to get there, AND a clear view on the TALENT they need on their journey.

They're looking for fresh perspectives outside of their category niche, and want proven strategic thinking unencumbered by the ''way things are". 

And yet, for roles at c£500K (total cash package), it's a challenge to attract industry outsiders.

The question to me was: "Why?" 

Truth is, once you hit a certain level, the cash makes you heavy.

Let me explain.

Most people I speak with are primarily motivated by avoiding loss:

✴️ Avoiding the loss of self-respect when you realise you could have tried harder.

✴️ Avoiding the sense of time slipping through your fingers and falling behind the pack.

✴️ Avoiding the loss of stability and financial control.

✴️ Avoiding the loss of a bad decision and the self-recrimination in the mirror

But, when you reach the top of the tree imagine losing your £500k perch and all it stands for, if an important career move goes south?

If that isn't a motivation towards inertia, I don't know what is.

Truth is, cash is just a hygiene factor at a certain level of professional success. It's required to consider a move, but it doesn't make a move.

Do you know if the person sat in from of you is moving towards opportunity or away from loss?

It's the same at £50K or £500K really. Human motivation is in my experience exceptionally fractal - same people, different scale. 

But, for some reason, the more money on the table, the blinder we can get as to what is really going on... 

So, don't let the money blind you, especially if it's your money!

Keep the focus on the person in front of you, not your money or your company. 

You won't sell a human your job on the money. 

You'll sell them on THEIR aspiration, or THEIR insurance requirements. 

Cash is always a crappy wingman for courting the best talent. 

A good recruiter though; they might even be worth their fee if they can unlock who you're dealing with and help you understand what's really going on.