A recent article in The New York Times, titled “Why It’s Hard to Hire Right Now,” stated, “Businesses of all types report that they are having trouble hiring despite high unemployment.” In such a difficult hiring market, it gets much harder for companies to attract the talent they need.
“Right now, every company in the job market is competing for top talent in what looks like the toughest labor market in decades,” said Eden Cheng, cofounder of the software technology company PeopleFinderFree. “And while job openings are rising, the number of job applications are yet to recover since the onset of the pandemic, which has left many recruiters struggling to attract enough talent to fill these open positions. The result of this has led to many hiring teams having to find ways to do more with less.”
As such, Cheng believes it has now become crucial for recruiters to rethink their hiring strategies and go well beyond the traditional path of posting on job boards and using agencies in order to get the most out of their recruitment drives. “This means being more creative and strategic when it comes to sourcing, as recruiters aim to move from ‘fishing’ for talent to taking a more proactive marketing approach to the recruitment process,” she explained.
Cheng and five other cofounders and company leaders weighed in with their thoughts on two specific strategies that can help organizations stand out in the current climate: rethinking which job benefits to offer, and promoting those benefits that help to differentiate your organization.
Rethink Benefits
Cheng explains why companies should rethink the job benefits they offer candidates: “Many recruiters are starting to realize that it can be difficult to attract new talent with pandemic-level benefits,” she said. “After all, without competitive compensation, you can’t really expect job candidates to be lining up to apply.”
She explained that, naturally, this means reconsidering your hiring budget, or alternatively, readjusting the types of benefits that your company can offer. “For instance, providing flexible work arrangements can be an attractive prospect for candidates,” Cheng said.
Discover a better way to recruit remote talent
Founded in 2007, FlexJobs is the most experienced remote & hybrid hiring platform.
- Unlimited job posts
- Low, flat membership fee
- Access top-level remote advice
- Unlimited resume searches
- Reach the right candidates
- And so much more!
Another benefit that Cheng believes many businesses tend to neglect to offer is paid time off. “These are benefits that of late are influencing many job prospects’ decisions because most of them are now very stringent about wanting to find a work environment that fosters a positive work-life balance,” she said.
James Crawford, cofounder of the shopping vouchers website DealDrop, agreed that to ensure you are attracting the right candidates, you need to make the position attractive by upping the ante on benefits. “Staff expectations have shifted since the pandemic, and candidates are now looking for options such as flexible hours, options for remote or hybrid work, and a better work-to-life balance,” Crawford said. “Try to be as flexible as you can with these requests. Promote internally to show that progression within the company is possible if the candidate has the desire to further their career.”
Kane Carpenter, practice lead at the employer branding and growth strategies consultancy DAGGERFINN, said her firm tells clients that if they want to stand out in an easy way, then offer $100 an hour for jobs that normally pay $20 an hour and they’ll have great success. But since that generally isn’t feasible, to really stand out, you have to paint the picture for them. “Such as, come work for us for one year and we will give you an extra week off and pay for your vacation,” Carpenter said. “Or come work for us and we’ll pay down your school loans by $2,500 for every year you work here. Lean into an angle that differentiates your company from others in the space.”
Promote Your Differentiators
Once you’ve identified which benefits to offer, consider whether those new perks can serve to differentiate your company—and if so, your next step is to heavily promote what you offer them.
Organizational psychologist Joaquin Roca, who is CEO and cofounder of Minerva, said employers should not be afraid to be “loud and proud” about what makes them different. “Assuming we’re talking about things other than compensation, your organization’s culture and the work-team climate are going to be your biggest differentiators,” Roca said.
In considering which differentiators to highlight, Roca suggested sharing rules your team lives by. “Rules that are deeply representative of your culture that would be repellent to some very talented people, but would make other very talented people feel right at home,” he said. “If your culture isn’t going to repel some people, it isn’t likely to stand out as an attractor for other talented people.”
Ray Blakney is CEO and cofounder of the online language learning platform Live Lingua, and his business has been fully virtual since day one. Since not all companies today will (or can) offer job flexibility, this can be one of the biggest differentiators that you need to promote.
Blakney advises employers that are able to offer such options to state upfront in their job posting that their company gives employees the opportunity to choose which kind of work situation (remote, hybrid, or in-office) they would like. “So many people in the workforce really enjoyed the benefits of working remotely during the pandemic and do not want to switch back to in-office work, so allowing them to choose will really make your company stand out,” Blakney said.
Carpenter reinforces this suggestion, stating that “gestures that will serve to differentiate your company in the current market, whether in terms of culture or benefits, must be grand and visceral.” She continued, “All of the easy stuff has been done, from unlimited vacation time to work from home and paid company lunches.” Because “this is the most competitive job market in an industry with a limited workforce,” she adds, “what good is unlimited vacation time if you can’t afford to go on vacation? This is why you have to sell them the dream and make it happen.”
Distinguish Your Remote (or Hybrid) Workplace Culture
Don't forget to share this article with colleagues!
