How Employers Can Appeal to Job Seekers in 2020
Tanya Jansen, the co-founder of beqom, a cloud-based total compensation and performance management solution, discusses how employers can adjust their hiring strategies and policies to appeal to job seekers this year.
January and February are the best months of the year to search for a new job, with most companies working with updated budgets to create new roles or replace lost talent. But with less than a third (28%) of employees receiving a pay raise in 2019, this hiring season may be ripe for more job movement than previous years.
The labor market is at its strongest in the past year, with jobless claims falling by 2,000 in the last week of December. This gives prospective employees the advantage, making it difficult for employers to entice top talent to accept an offer. So what are candidates looking for in a new role and company before accepting a position, and how can employers adapt their strategies to attract top talent? Let’s discuss three areas employers can focus on early this year.
Establish a Commitment to Pay Equity
More than two-thirds (67%) of job seekers look for salary figures in job ads, pointing to money as a top motivator for prospective employees. But nearly as many also look for information on benefits (63 percent) and location (59 percent), showing that while salary is a factor in deciding on a new job, candidates also look at the total compensation package and will put immense value on offers that meet industry standards and align with that of peers in similar roles.
The majority (63%) of workers revealed they would be more willing to work at a company that discloses its gender pay gap figure, showing the importance of pay equality for employees. With candidates’ eyes on equal pay, hiring managers should be prepared to answer questions regarding pay equality within the organization, the reality of pay gaps within the industry, and how the company works to create fair pay for all employees. To prepare for these conversations, hiring managers should have a readily available and truthful answer to how the company is taking action to close any current pay gaps.
Define Your Culture
Employees who share similar values with their company are likely to have higher job satisfaction and thus greater retention. Therefore, company culture is often a discussion during the interview process. With social media platforms, job boards, and sites like Glassdoor and Indeed, it’s easier than ever for candidates to walk into an interview thinking they have an idea of the company culture and values. However, more than a quarter (28%) of executives report that they don’t understand their own organization’s culture, creating a major disconnect from an internal and external perspective. If executives don’t understand the culture, how can employees be expected to portray that culture externally? This is problematic as 46% of job seekers cite company culture as very important when choosing to apply to a company.
Before any major hiring push, companies should step back and think about how they want to define their culture. How companies portray their culture affects the kind of talent they attract and retain, making this a worthwhile strategy to invest in.
Learn More: The New List of Non-Negotiable Job Seekers Are Demanding
Create Transparency With Your Employees
There is significant room for improvement in the culture of workplace transparency. The level of insight and transparency employees receive from their employer varies from company to company, depending on the industry and the outlook of leadership. While transparency about yearly or quarterly business goals and brand vision is important in making employees feel valued, prospective candidates may consider salary transparency a higher priority. They are more likely than ever to ask HR or hiring managers for greater transparency around their salary and benefits before signing on for a job. To address this need for transparency, employers can provide full compensation information upfront with a job offer by creating a total rewards statement showing the value of salary, benefits, and non-cash rewards.
As recent data shows, “attraction and retention of top talent” is the top internal priority for the C-Suite across all industries this year, and, to ensure that goal is met, it’s critical employers start out strong this hiring season. Equal pay, a defined culture, and salary transparency are key to hiring top talent and retaining them for years to come.
Learn More: Here’s What Job Seekers Expect From Potential Employers
