Is Your Company Attractive to Prospective Employees?

Finding the best and brightest to work for you is no easy task. They generally are treated well at their current jobs and don’t want to take the risk of jumping to a new firm when they don’t know everything that is in store for them. In a competitive market there are a lot of reasons why good talent would choose another option other than your firm. Additionally, as people with the right skills to excel in the market form a smaller and smaller share of the total workforce, their worth continues to grow. There are a few important things to consider in order to attract top talent.

1. Reputation and Online Reviews

In today’s society, online reviews can make or break a company. So if your company is portrayed to have a bad reputation, fairly or unfairly, it could certainly hinder your chances of attracting the best people. 

There are also well-known online sites like Glassdoor which allow employees to anonymously review companies. LinkedIn also provides a portal for former employees to be contacted.

Companies should encourage happy employees to post on Glassdoor and LinkedIn. However, the best course of action is to always treat employees with respect and consideration. According to a recent Glassdoor study, researchers found that 61% of Glassdoor users report that they seek company reviews and ratings before making a decision to apply for a job. With consistent negative reviews, it makes it very difficult for the company to attract top talent. 

2. Compensation and Perks

Of course, compensation is crucial to attracting any job candidate. That does not just mean the headline salary. It also includes the option vesting schedule, health care and other income. Additionally, some companies offer generous perks like tickets to concerts or sports. They give parking spots, extra vacation days and half days on Fridays during the summer. These perks all have a monetary value and can be considered part of the compensation structure. Health care deductibles and monthly costs are most directly noted by talent. Employees will include all of these calculations into their decision, not just the top line salary.

3. Cultural Fit

A big part of the experience working at a company is the culture. Even if the job requirements, pay and location are great, an employee may feel like they just don’t fit in at the company. For example, a company with a hard charging sales culture might alienate certain programmers that like a more leisurely approach, working odd hours to get their work completed. According to Collegefeed, nearly 80% of Millennials look for people and culture fit with employers first, followed by career potential.

One way to solve this is to silo the teams that have very different work cultures. Senior managers of these teams may still need to communicate. However, subdividing the office to provide a more welcoming subculture may do the trick for certain good talent.

4. More Opportunity

Some firms offer a pathway to senior management including more responsibility and a higher wage. Other firms cannot offer the same path to greater authority. However, the choice is different for each employee. Some may crave having a larger team with more authority over expenses. Other employees may simply want a fancy title and all that comes with it in the industry. Companies should probe to determine which is most desired by top talent, so they can offer that which meets their demands. According to a study conducted by Glassdoor, they found that 60% of Millennials consider the most attractive perk to be growth opportunities and 46% of Millennials left their last job due to lack of career growth.

5. Personal Issues

Lastly, some employees just have personal issues that are just insurmountable for your firm, no matter how hard you try. Perhaps they have a family and their child care and transportation arrangements do not allow them to work adequate hours at your location. Perhaps they are just stubborn and don't like to take the risk of joining a new company. Whatever the reason, sometimes this is out of your control.

If your company is having a hard time recruiting top talent, Platinum Group has the perfect solution for you. Register today for Platinum Group's free webinar series — HR Transformation Challenge. This four part series consists of specific tops on how to: Attract, Retain, Engage and Manage employees and their data.

To learn more about the HR Transformation Challenge visit:

Finding the right HR Payroll and finance solutions for your business can be challenging, especially when there are so many other responsibilities on your plate. That's where we come in. At Platinum Group, our HR Payroll and Accounting solutions streamline your workflow so you can focus more on your favorite parts of running your company. Whether it’s our industry-leading HR solutions, simplified payroll or accounting service, our team enjoys everything you don't so you can grow your business. For more information, contact us today at 828-252-0029 or visit www.platinum-grp.com.