Still, some people may resist because they fear new talent and new skills, or because they feel that change takes too much effort. In such cases, management should communicate that improvements in compensation, benefits, and the working environment are linked directly to executive leadership, a sustainable pipeline of talent, and, therefore, candidate care. More often than not, executives can identify pockets within the company where resistance to change is prevalent and take action. As resisters to candidate care are identified, they should be mentored and/or removed from the candidate care pipeline.

Assume everyone buys into the significance of candidate care. Keep in mind that candidate care is not a one-and-done exercise. It is ongoing because the talent pool is always changing, becoming more mobile, and developing new skills. In addition, other companies may be poaching your talent. So who has final accountability? Because it is strategic and affects shareholder value, the board of directors is responsible.

When done right, candidate care programs have a positive impact on both a company's brand and its profits. They require a high degree of professionalism from many different employees. So, once a board establishes candidate care as a strategic priority, management should promote the right internal behaviors. Companies that fail to understand this will not only lose the opportunity to hire the best leaders, they will have to compete against those leaders when they are hired by the competition. It's just one more case where doing right by people is simply good business.