Written by Alex Roland, Marketing Intern
The current war for talent has been difficult for many HR professionals to fight. With so few potential job candidates, how do you attract people to your company when competing against so many others? Well, there are several things that you could do to help attract these workers.
Firstly, you must recognize who your workers are going to be. The people taking over jobs these days are not the same as years past. We are seeing an influx of millennials and even some Gen-Z workers in the labor force. These people have completely different values than generations past and these values must be accounted for if you want to attract top talent to your company.
Winning Top Talent with Perks
We all know that perks are a great way to attract candidates to your company. But what perks will attract the newer younger generation to your workforce? Not the same perks of the past. The workers of today who are entering the workforce do not value things of the past that some still see as standard. One thing that the newer younger employees desire is a more relaxed office with more of a “home feel” to it. Of course, office culture will play a role, but millennials do not see the need to be wearing full suits everyday just to sit at a desk. If you want to attract millennial top talent to your organization, do not place an emphasis on a work environment that is devoid of individuality. Giving these workers a bit more freedom to dress the way they want and work where they want in the office is a great way to show that you are a forward-thinking company.
Another perk that attracts top talent is employee support goals. Give your employees the support they need to accomplish their personal goals. If your employees want to eat better, bring in healthier food to the office for them to eat. If they have an interest in getting fit, give them gym memberships. 40% of employees want to eat better and workout more yet less than 20% of companies actually enable the employees to do this. One may think that this would take money and time from the company, but when your employees are happy and healthy they will do better work for you and they will be more likely to stay.
After all, employee retention rates are nearly just as big of an issue right now as the war on talent is. Millennial workers place a greater value on personal health, physical and mental, than previous generations. Giving them the time and resources to achieve great physical and mental health will go a long way in hiring and retaining top talent.
Leveraging Benefits to Win the War on Talent
Beyond perks are the benefits that you give to your employees. When we think of benefits we usually just think of the standard healthcare, dental, and vision. But the newer generation of workers is interested in very different things. One benefit that many younger individuals desire, and are getting, is the ability to have flexible schedules. Work-life balance is a buzzword for HR professionals right now and it is for good reason. Many new workers are turned off by the idea of physically going to the workplace 9am to 5pm, 5 days a week.
Family leave is another benefit that goes a long way with younger workers. More younger parents want to raise their child together. They understand the importance of a mother and father figure to a child and know that it is important to dedicate more time to a baby together. Giving your employees this option would be a great way to show them that your company, too, values work life balance.
Video Job Ads
If you want to attract younger top talent to your company, you must speak their language. That language for younger workers is video. Online video has slowly been taking over the lives of younger workers. They watch YouTube and listen to podcasts and audiobooks instead of reading. By utilizing video job ads you will gain a leg up on others during this war for talent when trying to attract younger workers.
Not only will video job ads help attract younger workers by showing them you know what they like, and that you are a modern forward-thinking company, but video has also been shown to improve the quality of candidates. Candidates have been shown to retain the info from the video job ad up to 300% more than regular job ads. Not only will it help with candidates retaining info and increasing candidate quality, but video job ads can reduce your cost per hire by upwards of 56%.
Video is a great way to not just stand out among the competition, but to also get higher quality candidates while reducing your cost per hire, which is vital during this war for talent we are facing.
