Every staffing agency in the country is scrambling to attract candidates. More would-be employees. The best-qualified workers. Men and women with skills, training, and experience in the myriad sectors that desperately need employees.
How to accomplish that has many a question swirling about recruiters’ minds. What are today’s candidates seeking? What will appeal to them in the long term? What will give our staffing agency an edge above the rest?
The answers to those crucial questions lie in understanding one overarching truth: the candidate’s expectations have changed. Radically. COVID taught us many lessons, opening our eyes to truths about ourselves. The pandemic also spotlighted the ever-challenging life-work balance conundrum. And possibly the most noticeable impact can be seen in the overhauled attitude and mindset of the typical U.S. employee. The world is a different place now.
What do candidates want?
- More genuine, not lip-service flexibility
- A better benefits package
- More effective ways to manage a satisfactory life-work balance
- Less commuting and more work-from-home-or-anywhere options
- Clearer paths to career development
- A pleasant, welcoming work environment
- Pay that reflects their value to the company
The truth is glaringly real: pre-pandemic employment scenarios and packages won’t cut it.
Attracting serious candidates begins with an updated, competitive benefits package focusing on the right things. In addition to the items mentioned above, ears will be keen to offers that include health and wellness programs, childcare subsidies, and a thriving, welcoming company culture vibe.
Talented candidates are drawn to the job with the best overall benefits/perks package, including monetary compensation demonstrating the employee’s worth to the company. Unfortunately, it’s clear these days that fewer folks are content to work in positions where their contribution to the business plan doesn’t, in their mind, receive fair compensation.
What will encourage candidates to stay long-term?
- Feeling valued for their skillset and experience.
- Being engaged with the company’s vision and purpose.
- Realizing the potential for promotions, growth, and career development.
- Enjoying a company culture that demonstrates care and concern for the individual laborer and the collective workforce.
What will make one staffing agency stand out from the clamoring crowd?
The folks best positioned to give insightful answers to that question may well be candidates, those whose names get added to the company roster, and those who continue their job search elsewhere. There’s not a recruiting/hiring strategy anywhere that couldn’t benefit from at least a tweak here or there. But from the inside, evaluating every nook and cranny of a hiring program is difficult, if not impossible. Those best able to see the strengths and weaknesses are those experiencing the process from the outside. So, put the questions out there and do it in a way that leaves no doubt the feedback will be taken seriously and reap a response.
Your agency’s best defense in challenging staffing scenarios is an offensive marketing strategy led by the pros at ASJ Partners. Our team’s combined decades of experience crafting unique, dynamic marketing plans will get your agency noticed. So call us today at 610.930.5300.
