The job market is more competitive than ever, with companies competing for top talent just as high-quality workers compete for positions at the most desirable companies. To stand out as one of the most desirable companies, you need to understand what today’s workers want most from their employers. When you know what people want, you can look within to make the necessary changes. Showcase what today’s workers want most from employers in your job listings and stand out in the recruiting market.
Work-Life Balance
Today’s workers place more value on maintaining a work-life balance. They are dedicated and hardworking when they are at work. However, they do not dedicate their entire lives to being in the office. They want time off to decompress, recharge, and enjoy life. During this time, they focus on their friends, family, and personal enjoyment. While some companies want their employees to work long hours, this does not always translate to increased productivity.
Take a fresh approach to employee work-life balance by letting employees know you value their time. Offer workers flexible work schedules that let them customize their work hours. That way, they can have a work schedule that fits their lives. This could include flexible office hours or work-from-home options.
To truly stand out, go beyond this. Actively educate employees on work-life balance and make it a part of the company culture. Promote unplugged hours where employees turn off their work devices when they are done working. Encourage employees to actually use their PTO. Offer flexible PTO and leave options for parents. Create an employee sabbatical program that lets them take extended time off to pursue personal interests.
Competitive Compensation
There is no denying that today’s workers want competitive compensation. They are keenly aware of their living costs and want a wage that can allow them to live comfortably. Today’s workers also openly talk to each other more, making them better educated about industry standard pay rates. Offering fair compensation is the first step in standing out in the job market.
In addition to fair salaries, consider adding an enticing benefits package. Adding additional benefits can make your offers more competitive because they offer additional benefits that top talent value. Sometimes, these can be more valuable than additional pay. These could include tuition reimbursement, commuter stipends, or financial wellness assistance.
Opportunities for Career Growth
One of the primary reasons employees leave their current positions is because of a lack of career opportunities. Their current company does not have room for their advancement, so they must seek opportunities outside of their current organization. Another company’s loss can become your company’s gain. Stand out to top talent by showing that your company values its employees and encourages them to have career growth.
Foster employee professional growth by encouraging the pursuit of education. The company could have tuition reimbursement programs and flexible work schedules to accommodate class attendance. Empower individuals by offering learning programs and skills development opportunities. Give employees clear internal growth plans showing them how to progress through the company structure.
Establish an internal mentoring program. Pair upper-level long-term employees with newly hired individuals. This helps ground new employees by bringing them into the company. They will have a reliable and knowledgeable resource to support them as they settle into their new role and begin to look for growth. To further support this, maintain an internal job board. Publish new positions on the internal job first before publishing them publicly. This allows employees to register their interest in growth and have a real opportunity to do so within the business.
A Positive Company Culture
No one wants to spend 40 hours a week in a place where everyone is miserable and hates being there. This kind of company culture is disastrous for productivity, creativity, and employee retention. Once a company gets a reputation for having a toxic company culture, it becomes harder and harder to attract top talent. Today’s workers have a wealth of resources available to them for learning about the true company culture before applying. Professionals can read employee reviews and salaries online on company review websites like Glassdoor. They can see what a day in the life is like from employee social media posts. They can openly talk to each other without censoring on websites like Reddit. With all of these different networking methods and communication, bad company culture becomes well-known faster than ever.
To create a good company culture, you need to do more than say your employees “have fun” or “feel like family”. These are standardized phrases that workers can quickly identify as disingenuous. Instead, showcase your company’s core values, ethics, morals, and mission. Be transparent about how employees work together. Showcase the employee wellness programs that you establish to fulfill the other desires in this article. If you are doing the other benefits on this list correctly, you are already well on your way to having a strong, positive company culture.
Finally, your culture starts from the top down. Encourage leadership at all levels to embrace the programs and culture. Having leadership participate will encourage lower-level employees to embrace the positive culture.
Work That Is Meaningful and Fulfilling
Many workers want to feel fulfilled in their employment. They prioritize having a job that they can feel proud of. Appeal to these workers by highlighting how your company and the position positively impact the local community or society in general. This could be through the company’s mission or through the position’s actual work. Communicate to employees about the positive impact they and the company have. Talk about goals reached, people helped, or any positive results that come from the team’s efforts. This will help individuals feel accomplished and fulfilled in their roles.
Recognition and Appreciation
People want to feel like their hard work is recognized and appreciated. Today’s workers want positive constructive feedback. They want to feel appreciated for their hard work and extra effort. This show of appreciation will increase employees’ satisfaction, encouraging them to work harder and look for ways to continue that good feeling. This goes beyond the occasional pizza party.
Appreciation can be as simple as saying thank you. This small gesture goes a long way to creating a positive company culture. Encourage upper management and executives to recognize employees, acknowledge accomplishments, thank them, and congratulate them on their achievements. Have an internal system for publishing accomplishments department and company-wide to celebrate goals reached and achievements earned. This could be in-person team meetings, Zoom meetings, or even a company newsletter. Highlight promotions earned, employees who go above and beyond with effort, goals met or surpassed, and tenure milestones.
Workplace Flexibility
During our time in school, we are told that everyone learns differently. Some people need to hear the lesson, while others may need to see or do it to retain the information. This concept that people’s brains work differently is important when managing a team of modern workers. Say goodbye to the traditional way of working. Gone are the days of endless rows of tiny cubicles. Today’s workers want to be their most productive and effective, which means different working styles. They look for companies that understand this and will encourage them to develop an individual work style.
Attract top talent by highlighting your flexible working approach in your job listings. This does not necessarily mean offering remote work. It could focus on creating a welcoming environment for different working styles in the office. For example, you could have small, quiet rooms for people who need a space that is free of distractions. Another area could have communal spaces that allow people to collaborate easily with their team members. Have a space with cozy seating where someone can curl up with their laptop and work. Then, flexible desks should be offered that allow someone to stand while working. These flexible spaces allow employees to easily adapt to your office by fostering flexible spaces that recognize different working styles.
Health and Wellness Support
Today’s workers value their mental and physical health. They want companies that will support this shift in priorities. For companies, supporting healthy employees improves work performance. Happy and healthy employees can put in more effort while staying mentally sharp.
Attract top talent by showing that your company prioritizes employee health. Highlight the health benefits provided to employees. These could include mental health resources, wellness programs, and comprehensive health insurance. Companies can also provide paid time off for employees to receive their preventative healthcare.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives
Companies today need to recognize and understand that today’s workers want their professional world to reflect the real world. This means opening the doors to all individuals. Everyone should have an equal and fair chance to apply for opportunities. This leads to hiring the best person for the position and not the person the hiring manager thinks should be the best person. The result is a diverse team of individuals from varying backgrounds who bring a wealth of knowledge to the team. This open inclusion strengthens the team and encourages workers to be open-minded in their approach to interpersonal professional relationships and work.
Showing workers that you are inclusive needs to go beyond including that you are an equal opportunity employer. This is jargon to today’s savvy workers who want to see action over boilerplate text. Your company can stand out by offering employees social learning opportunities where teams can learn about each other and connect. Create a mentorship program that allows employees to connect one-on-one. This more intimate experience can help workers learn about cultures and people. Create a space where celebrating employee differences is a part of company culture. This could include recognizing cultural holidays, achievements, or life events. Finally, upper management should be trained to encourage differences and embrace individuals for who they are. That way, you do not have homogenous teams where everyone mirrors each other.
Job Stability and Security
Employees want to feel like they have job security. They need to feel confident in their position without fear that it will get ripped out from underneath them. This level of confidence and security will lead to improved productivity and loyalty.
If you want workers to feel a sense of security, you need to make them feel invested. Have managers and supervisors give regular constructive feedback to employees. This helps employees to know if they are meeting standards. If employees are let go, clearly communicate why. That way, employees know what is expected of them and do not fear their own firing unnecessarily.
Strong Leadership and Communication
It doesn’t matter what industry you are in; for a team of people to be successful, they need to have effective leadership. A strong leader brings people together under a clear vision of a communal goal. They encourage communication among team members and leadership. They demonstrate empathy and understanding for those on the team.
While effective leadership is difficult to demonstrate in the job listing, it is possible to exhibit during the interview process. Managers and executives involved with the team’s daily operations should be involved in the hiring process. They should be able to clearly explain the hiring process and what they are looking for to applicants and interviewees. During interviews, workers will better understand what working on the team will be like.
Stand Out by Offering What Today’s Workers Want
While today’s workers compete for the best positions, businesses also compete to attract top talent. The recruiting and interviewing process is a two-way conversation where both parties determine if a professional relationship is a good fit. This means companies must look for ways to establish themselves as a high-quality workplace. As you can see, this goes far beyond offering the highest pay. Today’s workers want to feel a sense of purpose. They want to feel valued and supported by their company to become their best selves professionally and personally. Highlighting how your company supports these goals and desires will help you stand out in the job market.
Working with the expert team at BOS Staffing can help you optimize your recruiting efforts and stand out.
