Today’s competitive job market makes it difficult for employers to attract and retain top performers. With so many organizations like yours vying for the same candidates, how do you ensure that your company stands out from the crowd?
What Sets Your Company Apart?
To set yourself apart from the competition, you need to identify the unique attributes your company has that your target job candidates value. This competitive differential must be real and not a made-up selling point. It should be something that matters to potential candidates and that your current employees see as an advantage of working for you.
The following strategies will give your company a competitive edge and increase the number of qualified job applicants.
1. Know Why People Work for You
Yes, your employees are working for a living, but there are reasons why they’re choosing your organization over others. Is it the salaries and benefits you offer, a sense of meaning and purpose, career mobility, corporate culture, perks? Take the time to understand why your current employees stay with you when there are plenty of choices out there.
2. Treat Prospective Job Candidates Like Customers
What is the value proposition you can offer job seekers? When attempting to attract candidates, you should cater to their needs as you cater to your customers’ needs.
3. Boost Your Employer Brand
A company’s image and reputation can draw in prospective potential job candidates or drive them away.
- More than 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before applying for a position (LinkedIN, 2020).
- 86% of job seekers research company reviews and ratings when deciding where to apply for jobs (Glassdoor, 2019).
- 69% of job candidates would not accept a job in a company with a bad reputation, even if that means staying unemployed (LinkedIN, 2020).
Your employer brand (image and reputation) is determined by the beliefs, ideas, impressions and interactions that people have with your brand. Here are some things you can do to influence candidates’ perception of your employer brand in a positive way:
- Show what it’s like to work at your company, focusing on culture, perks, reviews/ratings, etc.
- Share positive stories about your employees on your website and social media.
- Highlight your community involvement and social responsibility achievements.
- Hold special events to show that you value and appreciate your employees.
- Keep an up-to-date and engaging online presence.
4. Fine-Tune Your Job Descriptions
As the first step in the candidate screening process, job descriptions should be precise enough to tell job seekers whether a position is or isn’t for them. A bad job posting can deter promising candidates from applying or have you sorting through stacks of applications and resumes from unqualified job seekers.
Job candidates scan through numerous postings during their search. To grab their attention, you need well-written postings that provide all of the relevant information, including job title, accurate job description, qualifications and other requirements, working conditions and compensation. Be specific. Avoid jargon and clichés such as “team player,” “self-starter” and “fast-paced environment.” Find original ways to express your company culture and what you’re looking for in a candidate.
5. Build a Strong Company Culture
One of the best ways to attract high-quality candidates is to offer them a great place to work. A positive company culture (also known as organizational culture and corporate culture) allows employees to feel valued and engages them, increasing their productivity and loyalty.
Your company culture is a combination of your organization’s vision, values, work environment and internal behavior. It influences how employees feel about the company and how customers perceive it.
For information about how to improve your corporate culture and make it more attractive to job seekers, check out the following articles:
- 7 Ways To Build A Strong Company Culture
- Understanding and Developing Organizational Culture
- How to Improve Your Company Culture
- 3 Strategies to Build a Strong Company Culture
6. Revitalize Your Benefits and Compensation
Most professionals want more than a paycheck as reward for their hard work. In addition to a competitive salary, job candidates typically expect additional benefits such as health insurance, paid time off and 401k plans, and prefer to work for companies that offer perks such as remote work, flexible work schedules, tuition reimbursement, childcare benefits, gym memberships and employee discounts.
If you’re having trouble attracting job candidates, you should take stock of your compensation package to see if you can improve it. Today’s top performers have high expectations, and in a highly competitive job market, meeting or exceeding these expectations is a sure way to stand out.
7. Hire a Staffing and Recruitment Agency
Hiring a reputable staffing and recruitment agency can help you stand out from the crowd when seeking to attract qualified job candidates. A good agency can raise your company’s profile and handle part or all of the staffing/recruiting process, including job postings and candidate screening, interviewing, qualifying, hiring, onboarding and training.
Experienced agencies can operate more efficiently than in-house human resources departments and give their clients access to untapped job candidates.
Are you ready to stand out? BMA Group helps employers of any size in any industry to capture the attention of job seekers and provides them special access to the most promising candidates. Contact us today.