10 Ways to Win Talent In A Candidate-Driven Market
April 13, 2022
Hiring doesn’t look like it did two years ago. This year, job postings are up nearly 50 percent while the number of people applying to jobs decreased by 30 percent. Meanwhile, consumer demand is at an all-time high, and employers are struggling to attract and hire qualified candidates to meet it.
Homebuilders, like other industries, are struggling to hire enough employees to meet consumer demand. Many are re-evaluating their recruiting and hiring processes to stay competitive in a tight talent market.
Here are 5 ways organizations are changing their hiring practices to attract candidates in 2023:
Paying Them More
It might not be the most unique approach, but in this environment, it’s one of the most effective. Five-five percent of all workers are seeking an opportunity to increase their pay, and of those, 67 percent plan to explore new industries or fields. Employees are looking for better compensation and more security, and they’re willing to make big career changes to get it.
But workers are also seeking more agency over their situations, which gives employers a few options with their compensation packages. Some companies base their comp on a sliding scale based on number of projects completed or positive customer reviews. Other employers offer incentives or stock options tied to revenue.
Signing bonuses are also good incentives for candidates. The candidates receive upfront pay, and the employer isn’t committed to a yearly higher salary.
Regardless of how you structure your comp packages, offering candidates better pay will get you a conversation.
Incentivizing Reviews and Referrals
Candidates referred by employees convert at an 18 times higher rate than applicants from job boards. Most organizations have employee referral programs, but it’s a good idea to look for ways to sweeten them in 2023.
For example, in addition to cash compensation, some organizations have contests with prize incentives for employees with the most hired referrals. Employee referrals work well because in addition to your employees recommending people who they deem as qualified, they’re also endorsing your organization to the candidate.
The post-pandemic job seeker isn’t only looking for better comp, they also want a better work environment. The YOLO mentality has candidates looking to join organizations with great reputations, cultures, and missions and not settling for less. Making the Fortune Top 100 Companies to Work For list or winning other awards definitely gives employers a competitive advantage in this job market.
But you don’t have to win awards. Ask employees for feedback on how you can make your organization a great place to work. When employees love working for an organization, word travels fast.
You could also offer small incentives to employees and customers for writing and publishing reviews on your company as an employer and provider.
Offering Mental Health Days
This is a newer benefit that I predict will gain more traction through 2023. Companies like Bumble, Hootsuite, and LinkedIn logged off for an entire week in 2022 to enjoy company-wide mental health days. While this might not be practical for all employers, offering mental health days or other mental health benefits is a great way to differentiate your company from your competitors. Not only will it help attract new employees, but it will also help retain your current ones. It helps employees deal with work-induced stress, improves morale, and prevents burnout.
Some employers, like the ones mentioned above, even require employees to take mental health days because they know it improves focus and productivity.
Allowing or requiring employees to take a mental health day is a budget-friendly mental health benefit that will benefit your recruiting and your business.
Offering One-on-One Professional Development
Employers got the memo on professional training and development 10 years ago and started offering or paying for courses, training, mentor programs, and continuing education. Companies are now taking it a step further.
What’s the hottest new perk in the job market? Executive Coaching.
Most managers want to perform at their peak, but a boss or mentor is not usually tasked with or equipped to help them do so. An Executive Coach is. Executive coaches help managers recognize and leverage their strengths and teach them to help others to do the same.
Irrespective of how well it works, manager-level and higher candidates want Executive Coaching. If you offer it, you’ll have their attention.
Encouraging Work-Life Integration
Employers are shifting from encouraging work-life balance to work-life integration. What’s the difference? Work-life balance champions keeping your work and personal life separate but equal, whereas work-life integration focuses on flexibility, blending work and life together, so they can co-exist in harmony. A few ways companies encourage this are:
- Offering flexible work arrangements
- Incentivizing employees to achieve personal goals or gain life experiences
- Providing space for social activities, such as ping pong, card games, or yoga, in the office
- Creating social opportunities within the company that align with personal interests, such as book clubs, running groups, movie afternoons, or cycling groups.
With the shift to remote and hybrid work environments, work-life integration is already happening. The companies that embrace and encourage it will get the candidates who appreciate but don’t abuse it.
The Takeaway
Good candidates won’t be flooding the job market in 2023. They’re hard to find and even harder to hire, but they’re out there. They want the right job, and more importantly, the right package. If you’ve got those, you can get them.
