HEADHUNTERS are at large in the public sector, trying to nab the best people. Bad news, you might think, unless you one of those being hunted.

Those who have made it to the top are generally prompt to return headhunters’ calls. They know that half of all senior positions are filled via executive search, so they maintain good relations with the people who may one day have something for them.

One of the keys to success in business and finance has always been to keep in touch with the headhunters who specialise in your area. This now applies to the public sector, too.

But what about your employees? Naturally, senior management would like to prevent their staff from walking out, especially if they have invested time and money in them and rely on them for key skills.

There are, of course, ways of preventing headhunters from contacting your people. Some organisations instruct the switchboard not to give out names or titles. Others monitor e-mails or ban private phone calls in office hours.

Britain is relatively relaxed about headhunters and is likely to remain so. The measures described above are likely to damage employee morale, and are ultimately ineffective. An employee who wants to speak to a headhunter will always find a way.

Paradoxically, receiving a headhunter’s call can have the opposite effect on your staff. Having listened to what is on offer, they often conclude that they would prefer to stay where they are. In our experience, only a small number are serious about taking things further. Most are grateful for an opportunity to test their market value and will happily stay with you.

But there are steps you can take to make it more likely your staff will stay. You should focus on making your organisation as attractive as possible to employees. This includes having a mission they can be proud of, and carrying it out, training workers well, paying them competitively and promoting on merit.

In fact, one of the benefits of joining a highly regarded organisation is that you are more likely to be contacted by headhunters. People working in the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit or the Treasury are often contacted by headhunters dangling attractive remuneration packages. As the public sector employs more people with transferable professional skills, such approaches can only increase. Chief executives of some local authorities already command salaries on a par with the private sector, and there is likely to be continued movement between the two.

Headhunting is an essential feature of a free-market economy — it moves people to where they are most valued. The best policy is to develop your staff and make them more valuable than they were when they joined. Some may leave, but at least others will be keen to take their place.

John Purkiss & Barbara Edlmair are co-founders of the executive-search firm Purkiss & Co

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