'Employer of Choice' Definition
What does it mean to be an employer of choice? By definition, what makes a company an employer of choice is its ability to attract and retain the best candidates with a desirable company culture, leadership style, and employee engagement. It isn’t all about salary and terms. To be an employer of choice, there are many facets of HR that you need to consider and continually strive to improve.
What do candidates really think of your organisation, and why should you care?
The Glassdoor Informed Candidate Survey (August 2017) provides us with some excellent data to back up why it’s essential that organisations amp up their employer brand, talent management strategy, and recruitment process if they want to win the race for top talent.
Barriers to Recruiting Quality Candidates
Organisations experience barriers and challenges when recruiting the right candidates. Data found that attracting the right quality candidates is the biggest issue (76%), with budget constraints (72%) and difficulty competing with other firms’ compensation and benefits packages (65%) coming in close behind.
The survey also revealed that 76% of hiring decision makers experience challenges in attracting and hiring passive candidates.
[RELATED: Candidate Screening Checklist]
How to Become an Employer of Choice
According to the Informed Candidate Survey, salary and compensation might top the influencing chart on whether candidates join an organisation (48%), but survey results found that candidates are looking for a lot more than just a good salary.
Company culture is key to 37% of those surveyed, followed closely by the organisation’s reputation and employer brand at 36%. Glassdoor’s annual employee choice award, Best Places to Work, can help back employer branding efforts in the eyes of prospective job candidates.
Candidates’ experience of the recruitment and interview process are also heavily considered. How interviews are handled by managers is a main influencer for 33% of respondents, with the skills of senior leadership coming in at 25%.
In summary, becoming an Employer of Choice depends on an organisation’s ability to develop an enticing employer value proposition to prospective employees in the following areas:
- Salary & Compensation
- Company Culture
- Company’s Reputation/ Employer Brand
- Candidates’ Interviewing Experience
- Skills of Senior Leadership
[RELATED: The ROI of Employer Brand]
Candidates are Checking You Out, Too
Organisations conduct extensive searches when looking for quality candidates, but the survey found that potential employees are also doing their own homework, which is a very good thing. In fact, these informed candidates who take the time to research your company on Glassdoor are actually twice as likely to be hired than those from other job sites. (1) That’s because they have realistic expectations from the start, are passionate about your company and turn out to be your best employees.
A whopping 94% of today’s UK job seekers want to be informed about all aspects of a company before accepting an offer (2). Reviews by current and former employees play an important role in a candidate's background search at 22% and 18% respectively, while 28% greatly considered the company’s mission and values.
When Reality Hits
A reported 3 in 5 job seekers and employees felt the reality of the job did not match their expectations and what they were sold at the recruitment stage. However, 74% of hiring managers felt candidates actually did have access to enough information before they applied for a role, with clear expectations of the job and the organisation, indicating a disconnect in the recruitment process.
Recruiting a new candidate is costly, so make sure you’re transparent about your organisation and the role from the start. In the desire to be the employer of choice to win the best candidate, it can be all too easy to over sell the role, inevitably leading to disgruntled employees who will jump ship once reality hits.
Setting Up New Recruits for Success
Nurture your recruits, and live and breathe your company values. Plan a full induction to give new starters clarity on their role, where they fit in with the team, and what the organisation is all about. Help them achieve their peak performance with the knowledge and skills they will need to thrive.
Brand or Be Branded
Sixty-five percent of Glassdoor users are more likely to respond to a recruiter from an organisation they recognise. The survey results also show that more than 1 in 3 organisations (35%) are planning to gain a competitive edge by boosting their investment in employer branding over the next 12 months, with 39% planning to increase their employee engagement.
So to be an employer of choice, there are many facets that you need to consider and continually strive to improve. Remember, it isn’t all about salary and terms. The human elements, such as a strong culture, leadership style and employee engagement, will help you attract and retain the best candidates by being a stellar employer who delivers.
References:
(1) Based on app-to-hire ratios in a 2015 study of 30 million applications from a leading third-party recruitment agency
(2) UK One Poll, May 2017
GLASSDOOR’S INFORMED CANDIDATE SURVEY 2017: UNDERSTANDING THE CANDIDATE
Glassdoor surveyed 750 U.S./UK hiring decision makers to define and understand the value of today’s candidate in the short and long term. Respondents are those who have primary responsibility for or significant influence on hiring decisions. (August 2017)
Official Source: Glassdoor, Informed Candidate Survey, August 2017