10 Things Your Business Needs to do to Attract the Best Talent

Research conducted by LinkedIn, has discovered the top 10 priorities that candidates look for in an organisation when considering their next move, and the results might surprise you!

Candidates want to be able to see a clear benefit to the work they’re doing and how their work affects the business.

When employees find their work to be meaningful, their performance improves by 33%, and they’re 75% more committed to their organisation.

They are also 49% less likely to leave.

Communicating the importance of projects and work to employees will help them to understand why what they’re doing is important which will leave them feeling motivated.

Helpful and supportive direct managers is valued by candidate as research has shown that good line managers are key to employee health, engagement and well-being.

CIPD also discovered that poor management style is one of the main causes of work-related stress.

Candidates want to work for a management team that:

• Can create a supportive culture by being positive and appreciative, consistent, kind and fair, and concerned about workforce well-being.
• Provides clarity about roles and provides guidance and advice to employees. They can ensure that employees feel prepared, focused and are well equipped to handle the tasks they are set.
• Support employees’ development and motivate people to progress.

Due to Covid19 increasing our reliance on technology further, the workforce has been automating faster than previously anticipated.

Ultimately, this causes some jobs to be displaced, other jobs to evolve and new jobs to be created. Employees value opportunities to learn new, highly desired skills as this ensures they don’t feel like they’re falling behind and leads to feeling more secure within the world of work.

Businesses that want to remain competitive will have to prioritise their focus on preparing the workforce with new skills. Read more about why you should be up-skilling your workforce by 2025.

Candidates value working for companies that are driven by values that match their own.

When someone is passionate about your business and its mission they’re likely to be actively engaged in their role and the success of the company.

Candidates want to work for a company that is driven by values that match their own because they’ll have higher levels of job satisfaction, a higher sense of fulfilment, and higher levels of motivatio.

Ensuring the workforce is happy and inspired is not something to be overlooked.

Employee advocacy can boost your brand and attract high-quality candidates when looking at hiring for new positions. An enjoyable company culture also keeps employees engaged and increases employee retention.

Having a happy and inspired workforce will often result in referrals from your employee’s network, with job applications from employee referrals being 20 times more likely to turn into a new hire.

If your employees think where they work is a great place to work, then they’re more likely to refer people within their network when there are new jobs opening.

Having the right organisational support in place helps to aid the balance between employee work and personal life.

Organisational support is all about an employee’s perception that the business values his or her work contributions and cares about the employee’s well-being.

This could be through encouraging employees to take their breaks properly and away from a screen, ensuring managers focus on productivity rather than hours worked, or providing well-being benefits.

In September to November 2023, the estimated number UK vacancies fell by 45,000 on the quarter to 940,000. However, the good news is that this is still higher than pre-pandemic levels.

While the UK still on the cusp of a recession, it’s understandable why some candidates might be reluctant to move jobs. It’s important for business leaders and hiring teams to emphasise the job security that you offer in order to attract quality candidate applications.

Opportunities for career growth within a company are highly valued by candidates seeking their next position.

Employees who make internal moves through promotions or lateral changes are more likely to stay at their organisation than businesses that don’t offer any form of progression.

Research has shown that after two years, an employee who has made an internal move has a 75% chance of staying at that company. Whereas, an employee who has not made any form of internal move has a 48% chance of staying at the two-year mark. After three years, an employee who has made an internal move has a 64% chance of staying, whereas an employee who has made no internal moves has a 37% chance of staying.

This shows the value of emphasising the progression pathways and opportunities your company offers in regard to learning and growth.

In previous years, compensation was the number one priority for candidates. Although this has since been replaced with the latest number one – good pay and benefits packages still remain a key priority for candidates when searching for their next role.

An attractive salary combined with bonus payments, benefits, and incentives is going attract a high volume of applications and plenty of talent to your business!

It comes as no surprise that flexible work arrangements are still highly in demand despite Covid19 restrictions being lifted over a year ago. As of August 2022, flexibility has replaced compensation in the top spot of candidate priorities when seeking a new job.

But flexibility doesn’t just mean working from home, candidates are increasingly seeking flexible working in terms of when and where they work. Between the need for flexibility and the need for balance, it’s increasingly important for candidates to have a good work-life split.

Although businesses that offer flexible working culture will often benefit from increased interest in candidate applications, it’s also important for candidates to understand the value of time in the office. Office time allows for collaboration with others and the ability to bounce ideas off of one-another which can be extremely valuable and is something that’s often be missed out on when working remotely.

Flexible working is important but this should include time spent in the office as well as remotely, it’s about finding the right balance.

Businesses might not always be able to provide all 10 of these for their employees but being aware of what candidates and employees value can help you to attract and retain the best talent.

At T2M we take our responsibilities to our clients and our candidates very seriously. Our team of UK recruitment specialists will assure that we find the best fit for our candidates and our clients. If you’re a client looking to attract the best talent to your business, then contact us for a discussion about your recruitment needs.