Money and perks are not the main attractions for most jobseekers, according to a survey from Croner. The findings reveal a considerable gap between what employers think makes their companies attractive places to work and what motivates employees in their job search.
Gillian Dowling, employment technical consultant at Croner, believed that the results would surprise many employers, forcing them to rethink their ideas. “Today’s employees aren’t solely motivated by money and are looking for other perks and conditions to help them balance their work and home life.”
The top two attractions that job candidates looked for in a company were holiday entitlement and location of work. Just under 40 per cent cited flexible working and bonuses as the next most important influences in their search for the perfect employer. Following these factors, the survey revealed that it was the quality of a company’s workplace culture and environment that attracted people, while 28 per cent listed staff development opportunities as a vital element of their job search.
Croner suggested that the findings would “shatter the illusions” of many bosses about what made their companies attractive places to work. It indicated that many were out-of-step when it came to formulating recruitment strategies aimed at attracting the most talented people.
Employers’ v employees’ views
More than 60 per cent of employers thought that company reputation was the most attractive attribute for potential employees, followed by workplace culture and environment and staff development initiatives such as training and promotion. This was in direct contrast, however, to employees’ views. Only 22 per cent of those surveyed felt that reputation was important, placing it sixth on their wish list of things that gave a company the crucial “wow” factor.
Dowling advised employers that offering flexible working solutions such as later starting times, job sharing and home-working could have powerful benefits.
“Employers may be missing out on top talent by failing to accommodate flexible working needs. Evidence suggests that offering such benefits can lead to commercial gains due to improved employee relations, staff morale and retention.”
She warned employers that in the coming months they would have to rethink how they planned to attract the top people, and believed that they would have to become more inventive about the benefits they offered.
“With increases to statutory holiday entitlement to come in from this October onwards, even the option of being able to offer extra holidays as an enticement will have less appeal to job candidates in a competitive market place,” Dowling said.
