Today's employees are attracted by a hiring package with both extrinsic
(pay and benefits) and intrinsic (motivation, training opportunities,
etc.) elements. But does your organization have the right mix?
There's really only one way to find out: Ask them. Hold focus groups
or distribute questionnaires to your employees with the purpose
of determining what they think of your present pay and benefits
program and also the work environment. Which benefits do they rate
the highest? Which are least important to them? What do they find
most and least desirable about their jobs and the workplace?
Studies have been done by numerous compensation organizations and
they have identified the following as the most important benefits:
Likewise, examine employees' opinions about their jobs and the
workplace. The ideal company offers:
Of the elements above, which are missing in your organization?
If they aren't there, they should be. Whereas the elements in your
benefits package most important to your workforce will vary with
the nature of the group (e.g., younger employees will be interested
in childcare or tuition reimbursement, or funds to finance a new
home), all, regardless of their place in their careers, want job
security, involvement in decision-making, training opportunities,
and time to enjoy their families along with their jobs.
Once you have retooled your package to attract those employees
your firm needs, your next step is to determine how to market your
revised package. If you have a website, and you are looking for
technical people, make sure that you advertise on it. Visit the
websites of competitive firms to determine how they use their site
to prospect for job candidates. Job search sites should be part
of your marketing plans, of course. But you shouldn't limit yourself
to them. Don't forget newspaper classifieds.
Classifieds aren't as effective as they once were, especially if
you are recruiting from among those who are still employed. But
you can increase their usefulness if you highlight in the ad what
candidates would find most attractive about the job (e.g., good
pay, great benefits, childcare, employability). Actually, you should
do this in all ads you run.
Here's another avenue for marketing your job openings: direct mail.
Send out mailings to those individuals who match the profile of
recruits you want. Associations or magazines targeted to your industry
or the necessary discipline can provide the mailing list and names
of candidates with the general background you want.
This provides a new avenue for the top talent you want.
Author Florence Stone is director of Membership Programs for
the AMA and author of numerous articles and nine books, including
Coaching, Counseling, and Mentoring and How to Resolve Conflict
on the Job. To read her other article written for Headhunter.net
-- How to Perfect Your Interviewing Skills -- click
here.
