Attracting top talent
Every successful company was and is a team effort: from the CEO to the unpaid intern, everyone plays a role. Therefore, it is vital to hire the very best candidate for the each role. However, there seems to be a disconnect between what employers think job seekers want and what job seekers actually want. Those best in tune with the latter are in the best position to attract top talent.
Salary
This one seems easy, right? The company paying the highest salary is the most desirable company to work at. Except that’s not entirely true. Of course salary plays a role in contract negotiation but is not the highest priority for most job seekers. Job seekers are far more interested in which company will provide the most growth. As appealing as being paid to sit at home and watch TV is, few talented job seekers would want to this day in and day out. 64% of millennials surveyed said making the world a better place was priority. Thus it is a waste of your energy attempting to win over a job seeking with a huge salary when your competitor is offering an incredible learning opportunity.
Work life balance
There is a reason that behemoths like Google and Netflix do not have 9:00 am — 5:00 pm days. The logic behind this decision is that what does it matter when or where an employee does there work so long as they are succeeding. Obviously, they must be present for meetings and other activities that require their presence. However, these companies offer a beautiful balance of freedom and structure for the most productive working environment. This is a win-win situation: employees get the freedom to live the lives they want for themselves and employers get the best work out of them. As a small business, a schedule free work environment is difficult to maneuver. However, the sentiment should be there: a balance between structure and flexibility. Try to avoid overwhelming your employees, forcing them to work outside of working hours and give them a fair amount of time off. Everyone wants to have a life outside of work and it is your job as the boss to make this possible.
As much as we like talking about trends, it is important to push the benefits of working at our company on a case by case basis. Some perks that are important to one candidate may not be something that another care about. Remember, just as much as an interview is an opportunity for the candidate to prove themselves qualified, it is equally an opportunity for the interviewer to prove that this is a company worth working at.
Sources: Glassdoor, ClearCompany
