Five ways to attract top talent

From providing volunteering opportunities to offering tailored development training packages, there are plenty of non-financial ways to attract the best candidates. 

They say money makes the world go round, but for many candidates salary isn’t the only factor considered when accepting a job offer.

While incentives used to be limited to popular perks such as stock options and mortgage allowances, candidates are now looking for a wider range of benefits. Ensure your hiring processes are meeting expectations by considering these five points.

1. Company reputation

It’s vital for companies to develop a reputation as a place that candidates want to work for. Companies well known for their products and working practices will be able to attract the strongest talent simply on their reputation within a particular sector or industry.

During the hiring process, develop efficient recruitment procedures that promote that reputation. Even something as simple as how the successful candidate is offered the position can reflect the company’s reputation.

Takeaway: Are you telling the world about how great your company is? Invest in marketing that shows prospective employees just how great you are, then back it up with a stand-out recruitment process.

2. Company culture

An attractive company culture in a workplace can be vital in boosting the marketability of a position to potential candidates. Having the right culture for the right talent could include opportunities for flexible working, the level of autonomy given to employees or even providing a team lunch on a daily or weekly basis.

Implementing smaller, softer perks like casual dress or giving employees the day off for their birthday is a great way to gradually change a company culture. These changes may be difficult to accept in workplaces with long-standing cultural traditions, but they can make a company seem more attractive to candidates.

Takeaway: Introducing small, incremental changes to your workplace culture can make a big impression on potential employees. Add employee testimonials to your careers site to provide candidates with a better insight into daily working life.

3. Personal relationships

Hiring managers should utilise interviews to establish strong interpersonal relationships with candidates. Relationships formed during the interview process can often make the difference as to whether a candidate accepts an offer or not, as it provides them with an idea of what working relationships they can expect within the role.

Ensure hiring managers receive the proper training before the interview process in order to positively present both themselves and the company to candidates.

Takeaway: Are your hiring managers building up strong relationships with potential employees? Invest in interview-focused training and install a structured interview process that allows hiring managers time to develop these relationships. 

4. Personal fulfilment

Employees want to know that both they and their work matters to the company. A sense of fulfilment is increasingly important when it comes to attracting the best talent. The strongest candidates want to see how their effort affects their department, their company, and even wider society.

One way companies can make this sense of fulfilment central to the recruitment process is by setting out how candidates can interact with the decision-making process in the role. Candidates want a clear image of their decision-making capacity and how much their ideas matter.

Takeaway: Explain the importance of the role within both the immediate team and the wider company, highlighting the opportunities available for employees to make their voices heard.

5. Career progression

Career progression is often one of the most important factors in a candidate’s decision to accept a job offer. It’s vital that companies clearly convey all professional development opportunities. Create training programs that focus on developing the hard and soft skillsets of employees is a great way to attract candidates thinking about longer-term career development.

One way to do this is to offer a job rotation programme that shows employees the different skills necessary to succeed in the company and conveying the details of this programme during the recruitment process.

Takeaway: Are you doing enough to develop your existing employees? Establish a tailored professional development scheme and make sure these opportunities are discussed with candidates during the recruitment process.