In a labour market that is highly competitive for top talent, employers have to fight tooth and nail to attract the best new recruits to their organization. But attracting and retaining talent is not about having the most comprehensive package when it comes to benefits.
That’s because the truth is that most employees aren’t going to use most aspects of the bells and whistles or ultra-special package. Instead, they want tangible and recognizable benefits that will have an impact straight from the word go in their employment.
So what are they looking for? And how are you going to build an unbeatable benefits package? Here are five simple things to include to make sure you can attract the top talent:
1. Work/Life Balance
Everyone likes to have a job that doesn’t consume all aspects of their life. That goes without saying. Helping staff find work/life balance through their schedule is something that helps attract and retain the best candidates.
It can be tough, sometimes even impossible to be in a position to offer staff flexible start and end times (but if it is possible it’s definitely recommended). However, if you can ensure that there are opportunities for staff to deal with surprises and issues in their personal life, this is very attractive to top talent and current employees.
2. Development Opportunities
Remaining at one organization for the majority of a career is becoming a thing of the past. That said, one way to keep talent with you as long as possible is giving them the chance to grow and develop.
In a recent survey conducted by Miles, we discovered that growth and opportunities was the number one factor for candidates when deciding whether to accept a job offer.
Within a culture of nurturing and learning, development opportunities not only benefit your organization but there’s no telling how strong a bond it creates with your employees.
The best candidates will always want the opportunity to develop. Even internal learning opportunities such as career coaching and mentoring go a long way. If you can have plenty of options for education you’re going to grab the attention of the best candidates.
3. The Little Things
Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of small perks for employees. This means making sure coffee and tea are available, good kitchen facilities, fresh fruit and even a seating area to take a break. It doesn’t seem like much, but it helps to let employees know that you care about them.
This care for your staff trickles down to your clients and customers to impact the overall performance of your organization. These perks are cost effective, require minimum management but the impact on employee morale is unquestionable.
4. Health and Wellness
It’s a fairly obvious one but offering employees good health and wellness benefits is vital for luring and keeping the best and brightest. This doesn’t just mean health coverage but also dental and vision. These are costly and stressful elements of everyone’s lives and helping employees deal with these expenses goes a long way.
This can be costly and sometimes not possible to implement so another area to consider is wellness. Giving staff the tools and opportunities to stay healthy is a great way to keep your staff happy.
Subsidized or even free gym memberships, flexibility to exercise during work hours and yoga studios are just some of the things employers can do to get a head start on the competition when attracting and retaining talent.
5. Savings
Another benefit trend emerging which has proved popular with employees is discount opportunities in retail. These discount programs offer savings across thousands of stores and websites from travel to groceries and are easily affordable for employers.
The ability to save your staff a buck or two goes a long way to ensuring you’re attracting and retaining the best candidates. People love to see an instant impact in their pocket and there’s no better way of doing this than by helping them find discounts in all areas of their life.