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Comment by OoTheNigerian | Hacker News Reader

Here is a different perspective.

As an entreppreneur, I would not want my employees poached. I do not miind them seeking out other opportunities, but I would want them to make the move, not an external entity. Poaching can create artificial demand.

A satisfied employee an become unsatisfied overnight if he is offered a higher salary elsewhere which you don't/can't match.

If I had the way to stop poaching, I will. If my employee wants to seek new opportunities, I will not stop him.

The sacking of the person that was doing the recruiting is totally unacceptable to me. He was just doiing his job

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In what way does poaching create artificial demand? If your employee is valuable enough that another company wants to recruit them, that's not artificial demand, it's real demand. If you won't or can't match a salary somebody else is willing to pay, you deserve to lose that employee.

If your employee can't do the tasks you require of him, you fire him. If you can't pay your employees what they are worth, they go elsewhere. That's the way the world works.

Lets take a scenario. You Hire a guy and pay him $120 K a year. Within 6 months you spend say $60k training him. He now theoretically becomes worth $120K per year.

Would you be happy if someone just came and offered that much? Considering the time taken to recruit and money to train him.

In essence, Facebook (or big spenders) can make a small talented startup their official recruiting arm.

As the guy being recruited, it is great. As an employer, it sucks.

I reiterate, if the employee wants to leave and initiates the process, I would not have a problem it that. However, I would not want my employees or business unsettled.

Money is only a small factor. If that's all you focus on as an employer I can understand why your employees leave for another company when they offer to match their salary.

You may not like it but guess what, tough shit. Suck it up and offer your employees more incentive to stay other than salary.

You are right. Money is only a small factor. And an employee that gets swayed by money only might not deserve be bet on.

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On a tangential note, I am worried about the groupthink of HNers (I am not talking about you). the one directional thinking is astounding sometimes.

Is there a problem looking at a situation from an alternative view point?

Ignore the downvotes. You started a good conversation.

you hire a guy and spend 60k training him, he probably feels some loyalty to you. maybe he doesn't, maybe he goes somewhere else, this is one of the risks you as an entrepreneur must take. creating a culture of loyalty is a way to lessen this risk. attempting to sabotage your employees options is not an acceptable solution, either legally or morally.

If you don't want an employee to leave, don't use an "at-will" employment agreement.

You deserve to be sued if you try to make agreements like this. Its part of the game, if you can't take it then get out, you don't own people and a big part of why people can make so much money and do well here is because of a system like this, if another company has a need and they can pay more then they get the person, plain and simple. There is no right to entrepreneurship.

Sure, I wouldn't want my employees poached either; from the employer's perspective, it's a pretty nasty thing to deal with. But taking any steps to prevent offers being made is just not ethical.

It is okay to want to do illegal or unethical things. That is pretty human.

It is another thing to actually do them.

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