When companies hire, they often overlook the why. The focus tends to be on finding a candidate to fill a role, which is of course important, but that can make for a one-sided and ‘transactional’ candidate experience.
Candidates apply for roles for a variety of reasons:
- Due to unemployment
- Being unhappy in their current position
- Wanting to see what’s out there or
- Because they simply need a change.
The last 18 months have been one of the most challenging on a global scale with a pandemic, climate disasters, mass unemployment and political unrest. It has helped people realise what matters most to them, changing how they live and how they (view) work. This shift has had an impact on hiring, as priorities for accepting offers has changed beyond financial compensation and work-life balance. Companies are now faced with the challenge to shift their own way of working to keep up with people's needs e.g. hybrid or remote working, flexible hours and well-being initiatives.
So how do you make your company stand out?
By making the why clear! The why behind someone accepting an offer can include career progression, inclusive environments, internal mobility, remote working opportunities, or other benefit-related reasons. We see now more than ever that people are joining companies where they feel valued, trusted, and make them proud to work there. For example, a study by McKinsey & Company found that over 39% of the respondents have rejected roles where they feel there is a lack of inclusion at an organisation (Bailinson et al., 2020). Personal and professional development is also a priority - employees who work at companies where internal mobility is encouraged tend to stay 41% longer than those who don't (LinkedIn Talent Solutions, 2020). Both examples demonstrate the importance of the why.
If you are unsure on what to highlight for the why – ask yourself, why did you join (or set up) your company?
What was it that appealed to you and encouraged you to accept the offer? Put yourself in a candidate’s shoes again and ask – would I apply here knowing everything that I know now?*
The candidate journey doesn’t end once the contract is signed…it’s every day they work for you!
How can we help?
At Talent Point, we take a flexible and agile approach to in-house consultancy to help tech start-ups and scale-ups attract and retain the best talent. We don't only hire the right people, but we assist you realise the why and finding candidates who are aligned with these values too. We help improve current processes to ensure you’re set up for future success and a smoother, more personal candidate experience.
Our Talent Partners are fully embedded in our customer’s organisation, incorporating the flexibility and pace of an agency with the cultural understanding and empathy of an inhouse team. Our approach is customer-centric and data-driven to help customers make more informed and valuable decisions.
Curious to learn more about us and the difference we can make to your organisation? Take a look at what we have done as part of Our Partnership with Cazoo and feel free to Contact Our Team for more information on how we can work with you.
*We have launched a poll on LinkedIn and Twitter about why people joined their current companies and we want you to take part in it!...Remember to follow Talent Point across all our social media platforms as well for more engaging content and the latest Talent Point news!