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This may depend upon where you are, and perhaps a number of other factors, but since we are mostly speaking in gross generalizations here, I will too. I think you far oversell the degree to which people who are being recruited do not have at least one, and possibly far more than one, best alternatives to a negotiated agreement with the recruiting party. Anyone who was to say to anyone around me "you have no alternatives, this is it" will immediately trigger an inventory taking in my own mind of all the possible alternatives that person may have. Ultimately, I agree about the well-oiled machines, though. It is unfortunate that some organizations end up being run like this. It is bad for them too, especially in a world where an operational mindset can be overturned seemingly overnight by a new, better, cheaper way of doing the same thing. For people who want to stay where they are, but see this happening, my response to them would be to make this acutely obvious to those around them: both the state of things, and the consequences. Not all companies are in a harvest and exit mode. Some still want to grow, and their growth will be considerably less in jeopardy if they play an offensive game against the market. But, in order to that, they have to stop playing a defensive one against their own employees. If they realize this, they'll quickly realize soon after that their best alternative is not to turn recruiting into a battle. Another BATNA I would propose to the people around me is this: invent that better thing. Your new job can be to put the company that treated you like a cog out to pasture. What I will say this: I don't believe fear of the big, bad recruiting machine is a best alternative to anything. I feel it is consideration of one alternative, realizing it might not work out well, and getting angry. There are other alternatives out there; there is no reason to act so powerless in front of this one. |