I have talked to several leadership execs in the  last few months who are saying that they have cut leadership development and recruitment efforts for top talent from their budgets…that all they can do right now is just pay the bills.

I completely understand this, but in my opinion, this view is very short sighted and not very creative.

When it comes to building a strong company for the present and the future, focusing on recruiting top talent and then developing that talent are two critical steps which will secure your future.  We have to all be seeing the big picture.

I have read a lot of top leadership books, and of course, we have written a leadership book (EDGE! A Leadership Story,) and at the end of the day, people will tell you that they will leave a company over salary and benefits, but if you dig deeper, they will tell you that they are bored, tired of the same old, same old and they are restless for something exciting.

So, it’s time to really buckle down and start considering how you can pull in some top talent without breaking the bank and how to begin developing out your entire team so that they stick around.  Once the economy does turn around, we are all going to be back on the topic of war for talent, and you don’t want to be the company left without strong employees who can move your company in the direction of innovation.

So…here are just a few ideas on the topic:

1. Start looking closely at top talent who are sophomores and juniors in college and offer them a low cost paid internship.  They will develop loyalty to your company if they can get their foot in the door.

2. Treat people like you would treat your grandmother…yes…you have to treat people as well as you can.  Show them respect and compassion and keep people happy.

3. Come up with at least five creative ways to train people without spending a dime.  This could be an internal shadowing program, a “tip of the day” posted on a big white board or a tour to a local historical site…a site that would stimulate ideas and growth.

4. Don’t ignore Generation Y.  They need your focus right now.  Simply because you are not in “hiring mode” does not mean that you can ignore this generation.  If you cannot hire them, then look for creative ways to educate them about your company and about topics related to your industry.  This can be accomplished with a great blog and a forum to get Gen Ys to interact with you.

5. Bring in a movie that has a leadership message and offer a two-hour lunch break one day for brown bag and to watch the movie.  At the end of the movie, have a discussion about the leadership lessons learned while watching the movie.  A few that are tops for this purpose are movies like 21, Wall Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, Hoosiers or Citizen Kane.