What can you do differently this year as an employer to better meet your talent goals?
Low unemployment, inflation and market volatility continue to plague the workforce, and are predicted to continue doing so deep into 2023. But by arming yourself with the right data on the wants and needs of today’s talent, you can better navigate today’s hiring landscape and give yourself a competitive edge.
Pulling from what we’re seeing with our own clients, as well as the latest research into the wants and needs of today’s talent, here are 5 things to consider offering as an employer to better attract and retain talent in 2023:
- More personalized development
- Remote work options
- Better compensation
- More job requirement flexibility
- Support for family planning
More personalized development
The idea of a singular career path at a company is outdated; different people have different goals, and it’s important to account for these differences when working with employees to build their development path.
In fact, there’s research to show that this lack of personalized development is a big reason behind the current quiet quitting phenomenon. Connected to this, a general lack of communication was found to be driving employees to quit.
To counteract this, here are some things you can try:
- sit down with employees to understand their specific career goals so you can help them develop accordingly
- make sure they understand the expectations of their role and where it’s headed, and regularly let them know how they are doing
- acknowledge and celebrate their wins (this can be as simple as a shoutout on Slack or during morning standup, depending on how they prefer to be recognized)
- constantly ask for feedback to understand why employees stay at your company, what they’d like to see done differently and to identify general areas of improvements
If the size or capacity of your team is getting in the way of implementing these types of changes, or you’re unsure of how to go about implementing them, read this article to see if a partnership with ML6 can help.
Remote work options
Identify which requirements are “nice to have” and if you really need to include things like years of experience or formal education There is a clash brewing between employees and employers around the topic of remote work. Employers want employees back in office while employees want to stay remote, with being able to work remotely representing the top motivation for 21% of job seekers looking for a new job.
Remote work is not just a way to attract more people to your workplace either; it’s also a retention tool, with 60% of employees who can currently work remotely saying they’d like to work from home all or most of the time.
The bottom line? If you want to reduce the chances of people leaving your company while simultaneously attracting more new talent, offering remote work options where possible is a great first step.
Better compensation
Returning to work after the pandemic made people reconsider their value, forcing employers to raise pay and improve compensation packages. While we’re no longer in the Great Rehire, the effects of this compensation renaissance can still be felt (and even observed in Indeed job searches).
Combined with decades-high inflation, low unemployment and fear of market volatility, we’re left with employees who don’t want to leave the security of their current positions, value their services higher and need more money in general to keep up with the rising cost of living.
With this in mind, budgeting for wage increases in 2023 will not only help you stay competitive with other companies doing the same and retain current employees, but also potentially sway people at your competitors to make a move.
More job requirement flexibility
The good news is that unemployment is at a historically low; the bad news is that, for this reason (and others like market uncertainty and talks of recession), people aren’t applying for jobs as much.
One way to encourage more applications, however, is to make your job requirements more flexible, specifically as they relate to education. Removing strict education requirements, or at least moving them to the “nice to have” column in your job descriptions, can not only help encourage more applications but also more diverse applicants from different backgrounds and industries.
If removing educational requirements makes you worried that you’ll begin to attract more unqualified applicants, you can use competency-based interviewing and technical skill testing as a failsafe.
Support for family planning
Recent cultural events have shone an entirely new light on the importance of support for family planning in the workplace, with Indeed seeing a big spike in job searches using the phrase “reproductive” over the past year.
The topic has become so important that it’s become a non-negotiable for many workers, with 41% saying that they would not work at a company that doesn’t offer reproductive-related benefits. A further 43% say they’d consider leaving their company for one that offers them.
All of this is to say that, if you’re not already offering reproductive rights to your employees, there’s no better time to start than now; failing to do so may result in losing talent to competitors that do.
For more help retaining employees at your company, be sure to read our article, 5 Reasons Why Employees Are Leaving Your Organization. For a more hands-on approach to reaching your biggest talent acquisition goals this year, get in touch with our expert team of hiring professionals today!
About ML6
ML6 Search + Talent Advisory is a recruitment and talent advisory firm located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). We provide customized solutions to support our clients throughout the employee lifecycle. We help our clients attract and retain talent by advising on people programs, processes, and best practices.
