Being an employee people want to work for is  key 

But how do you become an employer of choice?

Being an employer of choice is the aim of many organisations, after all it’s better for business and your employees if they want to work for you and are happy at work.

With research from Monster suggesting that 95% of employees are considering leaving their jobs, it’s more important than ever that you can retain your talent and attract new employees. To do that, you need to be an employer of choice...

What is an employer of choice?

Put simply, being an employer of choice means your company culture, leadership style and employee engagement initiatives are desirable to potential candidates and current employees.

Your employee value proposition is key if you want to be a top employer. This is all about the reasons your people choose to work for you and what they get in return for their time and hard work.

According to a survey by Glassdoor, employees want more than just a good salary. Here’s what they’re looking for:

• 37% of employees say company culture is key
• 35% care about their organisation’s reputation
• 33% said how interviews are handled by managers
• 25% of employees care about their companies’ missions and values
• 25% said the skills of senior leadership
  
  

How to Become An Employer of Choice:

Increased flexibility is no longer an employee benefit:

According to EY Global, 54% of workers from around the world would consider quitting their job if they’re not given some form of flexibility in where and when they work. This can come in many forms including hybrid working, a four-day working week (which has been seeing success in Iceland and some companies trialling it in the UK!) or flexible hours.

This can help open up your talent pool too! Allowing more disabled and neurodivergent candidates to find roles that suit their needs.

Work-life balance is a priority:

Whether we want to use our time away from work to focus on our hobbies, get active or just catch up on our favourite shows, a good work-life balance is becoming more important for many. Research from Joblist revealed that just over 30% of workers said they’d give up part of their pay for a better work-life balance, with parents willing to take a 5% pay cut.

Take the time to re-evaluate your benefits:

A lot of benefits that top employees offer have been focused on making the office a place their teams want to come to everyday. These could be onsite gyms, free lunches or even ping-pong tables and nap rooms!

But as we move into a world where a hybrid model is becoming more common, now’s the perfect time to look at whether the benefits you’re offering help address the challenges your employees are facing Here’s just a few ways you can adapt your benefits:

• Focus on financial wellbeing: the pandemic has impacted many employees and employers. Offering financial education as well as benefits like cashback cards can help, particularly if you’re not able to offer pay rises or bonuses.
• Look at a Cycle To Work scheme: with many commuters looking at alternatives to public transport and a Cycle To Work scheme can help! Allowing your employees to spread the cost of their bike over a year and saving you and them money too.
• Listen to what your workforce want: make use of employee engagement surveys and one to one conversations with your teams to see what benefits they want, and then adapt based on the feedback.

Offer more mental health support:

Research has shown that England is facing a mental health crisis: with one in five adults suffering from moderate to severe depression, doubling the level seen before the pandemic. Plus, with almost half of all work-related ill health cases in 2019/2020 were caused by stress, depression, or anxiety (HSE) it’s important for employers to be supporting their teams.

Strong mental health benefits can help support your employees and build a supportive company culture, this could include offering an Employee Assistance Programme, financial education and promoting physical exercise with benefits like a discount on gym membership.

This can help your teams manage their mental health and make your more attractive as an employer. Research says that 55% of workers say they would seek a new job if their mental wellbeing wasn’t being supported by their employer, increasing to 78% amongst 18-24 year olds (Benenden Health).

Focus on career development for your staff:

According to Forbes, of the 26% of workers planning to switch jobs post-covid, 80% are doing so because they are concerned about career advancement. You could address this by offering mentorship opportunities, lunch and learns as well as providing professional training. Here’s how career development can help with employee retention.

How we can help you become an employer of choice:

If you’re not sure where to start with adapting your benefits to help you become an employer of choice and reduce staff turnover, we can help! Get in touch with our experts today to find out how we can help guide you through using employee benefits and rewards and recognition to improve your employees’ experience at work.

Sources:

Monster
Glassdoor
EY Global
Joblist
The Royal College of Psychiatrists
HSE
Benenden Health
Forbes