While this is not a post about attracting a partner, it's fair to say that wooing a new candidate is like participating in the dating process. Attracting great talent is a balance of connecting with and describing what makes you a desirable organization to a potential employee.
Candidates have a surplus of companies to choose from today and standing out as an employer of choice is critical to remaining competitive in this tight labor market. But what makes a company attractive and considered an employer of choice?
What Candidates Want
Although culture, philanthropy and communication still rank high, and competitive compensation is paramount, today's candidates (and employees) want to feel valued, have a sense of belonging, see the potential to grow and have flexibility. In fact, in our 2022 Job Seeker Report, survey respondents said Recognition, Appreciation & Respect was their top reason for accepting a job offer (32%), while Compensation (21%) and Job Fit (17%) came in second and third respectively, and all funnel into what candidates are looking for from an employer. What's even more interesting, these preferences have remained constant since 2019 and send a message that the "Great Resignation" is not about changing perceptions but about employees becoming more aware of their options in making meaningful career decisions.
Employer Branding
Aside from the preferences above, evaluating your organization's reputation as an employer of choice is another ingredient to the recipe for attracting talent. You may think that being an employer of choice only lies with HR, but your marketing team is a valuable resource to identify, establish and promote your employer brand.
What's an employee brand? Simply put, it is a way to describe an organization's reputation as an employer. Think of your career page/website as a billboard – where you can share examples of what it's like to work at your organization and how it interacts internally and publicly. Do you share employee career transformation stories and highlight the company culture? Does your career page/website celebrate and discuss the tools and technologies you offer to help career advancement? Ensuring this information is front and center can help attract suitable candidates. For all the reasons people like consumer brands, your employer brand should summarize all the great reasons someone would want to work at your organization.
Streamline the Hiring Process
If you already have a kick-butt career page and your brand presence is over the top, the next thing is your hiring process. Often overlooked, that hiring process must be seamless - any kinks can make you look less attractive and keep you from getting a "yes" when you make a job offer.
All phases of the hiring process should be evaluated – from opening the requisition, screening the applicants, interviewing the candidates, selecting the best, and making the offer - to ensure that speed is the goal, but the candidate experience is not sacrificed.
The candidate experience tells a lot about how an organization values people - the better the experience, the better a candidate is aligned to the company and team culture, resulting in the best fit.
A recent Willis Towers Watson survey found that 70% of employers surveyed expect to still have attraction challenges through 2022. Organizations that take action to improve the process and the candidate experience have a better chance of overcoming the talent challenge with a recipe that attracts!
