With hiring challenges expected to persist long into 2023 — with candidates having an increasing number of available roles to choose from, owing largely to an increase in remote and location-agnostic hiring — businesses may find it increasingly difficult to attract talent and fill their open vacancies. But just what makes an employer attractive to a prospective employee in 2023?
In this post, we’ll look at five key ways businesses can make themselves more attractive to job applicants and meet the challenge of sourcing talented candidates.
Communicate your company values
Increasingly, candidates are looking for more than just a healthy pay packet each month — for instance, almost three-quarters of job seekers would avoid applying for a role if they felt the company’s values didn’t match their own. That shows the importance of company ‘culture’ in the hiring process, and highlights why you shouldn’t shy away from being open about your company’s core values — what drives its purpose, what it stands for, and which principles guide it.
A prospective candidate isn’t just interested in what your business does, but also wants to know how it does it: do you foster a culture of innovation, for example, where new ideas and ways of thinking are actively encouraged? Do you place strong emphasis on the social side, where having fun is (almost) as important as working hard? Perhaps your company is committed to creating a sustainable future? Either way, these values and cultural characteristics can be assets when pitching a role to a potential future employee.
Show potential for progression
When a candidate considers applying for a new job, one of the most important things they’ll assess is whether the role will offer them the opportunity for continued professional development and career progression — 87% of millennials, for example, consider professional growth and career development to be very important. If you’re willing to commit to offering development opportunities from the outset, it shows your candidate a number of things:
- You’re an employer they can forge a long-term career with (and they’re unlikely to be job-hopping again in a year’s time).
- They can develop their skills and expand their knowledge by working for your company.
- They’ll have the opportunity to increase their earning potential.
- Your company is performing well, and has a bright future.
It’s important to be open, honest and specific when it comes to development potential, rather than leaning on vague promises such as “opportunities for progression”. If your company conducts a twice-yearly pay review, for example, state that in your job ad; if each employee is assigned their own training budget, call that out. You want your candidate to see your company as somewhere they can flourish and grow, rather than as a stepping stone to bigger, more exciting opportunities.
Modernise your workflows
You’ll hear the phrase ‘modern employer’ used frequently, and it can of course mean any number of things: perhaps you’re committed to creating a more diverse workplace, for example, or you’ve fully embraced a remote or hybrid work model, or you continually invest in or upgrade technology to ensure you’re ahead of the curve. But when we talk of being modern, we can also refer to a company’s internal processes and workflows — and this can play a key role in attracting a candidate during the hiring and onboarding process.
For instance, if your recruitment process is clunky or antiquated — maybe you insist on face-to-face interviews and distrust video interviewing software such as VidCruiter, or your online application forms are long-winded and unwieldy — certain candidates are likely to see red flags and steer clear.
You can also make the role itself sound more attractive if you’ve got your internal processes ironed out. Will the role involve a lot of mundane, manual tasks, or are you using software tools to take away the manual burden and make the work more engaging? Instead of spending time manually filing invoices, for example, Chargebee’s recurring payment services automate and streamline this process — neatly handling a task that might otherwise be time-consuming and soul-sapping.
Sell the genuine benefits
Benefits can be a grey area, as many candidates’ — and employers’ — views can differ when it comes to determining what exactly is considered a benefit. Pre-2020, for example, the ability to work remotely would’ve likely been viewed as an attractive perk, whereas nowadays it’s commonplace and many candidates will therefore expect it.
The key is to be specific, avoid making vague or unsubstantiated claims, and refrain from listing anything as a benefit when in reality it’s something most (or all) employers offer as standard. For example:
- If the salary you’re offering is as competitive as you say it is, why keep it hidden? Candidates may swerve roles where the salary isn’t stated, since there’s a chance they’ll end up wasting their time applying for a role that’s way below (or unrealistically above) their salary expectations.
- Your holiday entitlement shouldn’t be listed as a benefit unless it exceeds the amount of statutory leave an employee is legally entitled to (5.6 weeks in the UK). Of course, if you offer added incentives such as unlimited paid time off (like the TV streaming company Roku), that definitely counts as a benefit.
- Be careful with ‘benefits’ such as flexible working — you may claim to be a flexible employer or promise a hybrid work model, but what does that mean in reality? Complete freedom to choose when and where you work, or mandated days in the office each week? Be specific and up-front, and avoid being accused of flex-washing by making vague claims or failing to fulfil promises.
- In the wake of a pandemic that put our physical and mental health into sharper focus, employees are increasingly seeking additional benefits such as mental health support. This might mean allowing them to take a day’s leave at short notice when they’re not feeling 100%, or investing in a tool such as Headspace to promote mindfulness and help address stress and anxiety.
Be active on social media
Nowadays, your company is more accessible than ever, as just a cursory scour of the internet can reveal plenty of information about your business’s values and reputation in mere minutes. Almost all candidates, for instance, will peruse a company’s social media accounts before they apply for a role, seeing it as an effective way to gauge the company culture (which is very important, as we’ve mentioned) and get a feel for what it would be like working there. For a business, it’s a great way of grabbing attention, increasing awareness of the brand, and showcasing why it’s a great company to work for.
Depending on the nature of your business (it may not be appropriate for a medical company, for example), injecting a little personality into your social posts can make you stand out to a prospective employee — think short video clips, instagram reels, links to blog posts about your company’s latest social outing. Using a social media management tool such as Brandwatch, you can measure engagement, track followers, and assess which posts and content pieces resonate most with your audience, and then tailor your social strategy to make your company more attractive to potential candidates.
Businesses may be finding it increasingly hard to attract good candidates, but fortunately there are several ways to promote your company as an enticing, appealing place to work. By communicating your values, offering a path to progression, streamlining your workflows, selling (and not mis-selling) your benefits, and engaging with prospective candidates on social media, you can increase your attractiveness to eager job applicants.
