If only every staffing solution were so easy.

Not a day goes by where I am not amazed by a new software solution that our team helps develop. From on-demand versions of our product to web-based staffing software, each bit and byte of data we work with is dedicated to helping staffing companies fill their client’s needs.

If only I knew it was as simple as offering 1% of a $100 billion stock.

This article from TechCrunch details how Facebook has managed to poach 118 employees and counting from Google. This comes in spite of the fact that, as author Michael Arrington puts it, Google is countering with offers that cannot be refused (think $500,000. Think bonus.)

Facebook, of course, has a simple statement that works in equal measures as both an initial pitch and counter-counter:

‘There’s no reason our stock won’t hit $100 billion in total valuation over the next couple of years. No guarantees, yadda yadda, but hey if you get 1/10 of 1%, that’s $100 million in stock!’

(Editor’s Note: Per the article, up to 80% of Google employees do accept the ‘irrefusable’ counter-offer – and Facebook’s ‘pitch’ is never in writing.)

I am fully aware that money isn’t everything – and by itself – it certainly is not a long term staffing solution.

But I also realize that in a world where all things are equal, and two companies with stellar reputations for employee relations duke it out for equally stellar candidates, generosity from the top can be a key differentiator.

As C. Montgomery Burns, the ‘world’s richest man’ once said – ‘I’d trade it all for a little more.’

Later this month I'll discuss both sides of this issue: whether it’s money or job passion that truly drives employees.