Ah, decisions, decisions. Almost every step of our growing-up process includes them. Some are smaller and without much influence on our lives, while others can make a huge impact on a lot of aspects.
One of the first bigger ones is the choice of high school we will attend, and right after there's college. We’ll also change partners, friends, but the thing that brings food to the table and keeps our cars running, among other things, are our jobs.
Mind you, it’s not only about the money and the necessary materialistic goods. One’s work environment, as well as superiors, colleagues, benefits, and other working conditions - take up a lot of their time. Consequently, it leaves a mark on their quality of life, daily.
Will there be enough paid vacation days, health insurance… these are only some of the questions that all applicants think about. Let’s see what our candidates usually say attracts them the most, when it comes to job benefits and other perks that employers can offer.
Job Security
Selection processes are usually not perceived as a fun time that anyone wants to repeat over and over again. That’s why it’s a big plus if a company retains its employees for a lot of years. This is especially hard to do in the 21st century, when people tend to change their jobs frequently, for various reasons.
Having said that, an employer who succeeds in such a “feat” is doing something right. The easiest way to quickly scout for how long someone is working at Microsoft for example, is going on LinkedIn and checking out their profile page. You should try and keep your company’s retention rates high. It will make your present and potential future employees feel more secure and relaxed.
Less Stress - More Satisfied and Productive Employees
Remember the part where we’ve said that one’s career life highly influences the private one, on a daily basis? Yup, it’s time to (no pun intended) cover up that argument. Here’s a simple comparison with two examples we were all witnesses to or experienced them personally:
1) Jonathan’s working hours are from 9 am to 5 pm, with staying up overtime now and then. This morning the traffic is heavily jammed, and he didn’t have time to eat breakfast because he has snoozed all the alarms due to his physical and mental fatigue.
The person behind him is pushing their car horn to the limit, while he is trying to keep his cool and text the superiors that he’ll be late. They respond: “This is the second time this month, we’ll talk about it when you arrive”. He rolls his eyes, nervously.
2) It’s a relatively similar scenario with Samantha, with the difference that she can come to her work within a two hours range, for example. She’ll be able to get herself a healthy breakfast (or some fast food tasty stuff, we don’t judge), and won’t worry about the honking all around her.
Instead, she will enjoy her favorite song blasting in the car, while knowing that it doesn’t matter at all if she arrives at her office in ten, twenty, or forty minutes. That morning group run on Tuesdays? She can attend to it without a worry in the world because flexible working hours are an awesome thing.
You see, deadlines are stressful as it is. Adding another one to one’s daily routine, where they have to be in a specific building or online at a given moment, won’t help. On the other hand, being able to organize their day according to the non-work-related events in it, makes them happier and more productive employees.
Salary and Other Perks
While we’ve emphasized in the beginning that the financial aspect of one’s career isn’t the most important one, it still affects the quality of their life. It’s completely normal to want compensation that will allow them to enjoy their free time, fulfill basic needs on a daily level, and afford things such as summer holidays etc. In other words, to be relaxed and stress-free when it comes to spending their hard-earned money.
Investing in employees shows that a company cares about them and respects their skills. That goes beyond a basic salary package, but includes additional benefits such as mentorship, training, health insurance, paid vacation days, etc.
Mutual Feedback and Company Culture
Knowing what we did well and if there’s space for improvement is great, for both you and your employees. That’s why open communication between the two sides is another of many traits that make the latter one attractive. Feedback should be there right from the first hiring step, all the way up to their progress within the company. It's a win-win requirement for everyone.
On the other hand, you should also be ready to hear a word or two from your employees. No matter how small or big the project is. Their opinions and thoughts matter, regardless of the time they’ve spent in the firm as an employee. That is a big part of a company’s culture and shows how much the people running it care about their people. Receiving feedback can be equally important as providing it.
Honorable Mentions
Flexible working hours
In the last year and a half, a lot has changed when it comes to office and remote work. Depending on personal preferences, some people are rooting for companies to never go back to the traditional way of doing business. Others can’t wait to physically share spaces with their colleagues every single day.
Let’s say that a perfect employer will provide their employees with both options, and in that way make everyone happy. It can also be a combination of the two, if the job’s nature requires everyone to gather every now and then.
Employer Branding
Let’s be honest: no matter what the industry, the popular “players” draw the potential recruits' and applicants’ attention. Whether we talk about sports, tech, AI, digital marketing - names such as Real Madrid, Microsoft, Google, Coca Cola, etc will come to mind.
It doesn’t mean that smaller companies or startups have less chance of attracting quality candidates. If you do the right thing with the development of your employer branding, you’ll be able to gain interest of talented and skilled individuals
Special Perks
While having the usual benefits is awesome, there are companies that go to the next level. For example, Netflix lets employees choose the number of vacation days per year. It can be up to two days, weeks, months, whatever you feel like at the moment.
American Express gives five months full paid leave for new mothers, even though they are not obliged by law to do so. Working at Airbnb provides you with a $2.000 yearly voucher so that you can enjoy the very same apartments that you post and advertise.
Conclusion
So, what makes one employer attractive? All of the above, and at the same time - only some of it. At the end of the day, it all comes to what the company is willing to give, and what the candidates expect. There’s always a personal preference involved, but some of the perks should be a mutual desire for everyone.
If we have described your company fully or even partially above, and you want to attract employees that will fit right in - you can contact us here. FatCat Select is a team of skillful recruiters with years of experience working with top-notch businesses. You create the benefits, we help you get the best candidates out there to utilize them fully.