Top 5 Things Candidates are looking for from a Company
Posted on 7th June 2021 at 16:54
The candidate market is tough currently. There are not lots of candidates all desperate for their next role as some employers may expect. We are seeing a discerning candidate pool with clear requirements as to what they are looking for from their next role and their next employer. So, if you are recruiting currently what do you need to show potential applicants to make them interested in you?
1. Stability
We have all felt it over the last fourteen months. No one can look too far into the future and know what will be happening next with the pandemic. Yet for many of us, change does not sit comfortably. Most candidates, if they are looking for their next position will be looking for a company that is going to offer them stability. Make sure that your promotional literature reflects this – talk about your heritage and your plans for the future.
2. Flexibility
This is the number one requirement for candidates. They don’t necessarily want to work from home permanently or full time, but they do want to be offered flexibility within the workplace. Look at your policies around home working. What can you offer candidates – more flexible hours? a hybrid model of working from home as well as the office? You will lose out on candidates if you are still adopting a rigid 9 – 5, office working environment. If you are being flexible – shout about it! Candidates want to know – it will help to make their decision to apply to you easier.
3. Treated with maturity and trust
Along with more flexible working practices comes an understanding of the trust issue within the workplace. As most employers will testify people want to work and have been happy to carry out their roles and meet their targets around working from home challenges and home-schooling requirements. Can you demonstrate this as part of your recruitment process?
4. Values alignment
For many, the pandemic has been an opportunity to reflect on their working practices and what individuals want from work and life. It is more important than ever that in recruitment you are demonstrating the importance of your organisation’s values as well as how you live them daily. Ask candidates questions around their values set too – this shows candidates verbally how important these are to you as an organisation as well as helping you to see whether they are aligned to what you are trying to do.
5. Culture
Show the culture of your organisation as part of the recruitment process. Take time with candidates to explain how the culture works and what this means on a daily/weekly/monthly basis for them. Whether it is an open-door policy, or a more casual approach on a Friday get them to feel it as part of the recruitment process.
Recruitment needs to change from being quite a formal process to being more of a two-way conversation and decision-making process. Consult with your candidates throughout the process – how did they find a stage? Are they still interested? What did they think about the information sent on values etc.? It also needs to become more advisory, if someone is not suitable within your recruitment process how can you advise them for the next time? Think about your company branding – if you give candidates proper feedback then they will say good things about you to others in the field and will again encourage applications.
If you want to discuss your recruitment processes and how to maximise the current candidate pool why not call us on 0116 2080246 or email us for more information at recruitmentsolutions@emerald-starfish.com
Tagged as: candidate market, getting the best candidates, recruitment post covid, talentpool management, What candidates are looking for
Share this post: