In today’s competitive job market, it’s more important than ever to stand out from the crowd as an employer of choice. So, how do you go about doing that?
Promote A Strong Company Culture
Strong company culture is one of the most critical factors in attracting, retaining, and delighting employees. A company with a strong culture is known for its values, approach to work, and how employees are treated. Good company culture can make employees feel valued, supported, and engaged. It can also lead to a sense of pride and loyalty among employees. To promote strong company culture, consider these tips:
1 .Create a clear and consistent company vision.
2 Encourage creativity and innovation.
3 Value teamwork and collaboration.
4 Foster a sense of community.
5 Be respectful and tolerant of different opinions.
6 Promote a healthy work-life balance
Offer Competitive Salaries And Compensation
Competitive salaries and compensation are essential to attracting, retaining, and delighting employees and will help your business stand out from the competition. With the job market favoring candidates, it’s vital to set yourself apart to help attract and retain the best possible employees.
For salaries, it’s essential to be flexible. Consider investing in a compensation survey to ensure you align with the market rate. Also, consider exceptional benefits to help recruit and retain your employees. Candidates are attracted to employers who offer excellent benefits and opportunities for growth. It’s essential to offer the best possible options to your candidates and employees to keep them happy and productive. Here are some timely examples that you can offer your employees to make them want to stay with you:
Paid time off, flexibility/remote working options, mental health days, paid family leaves, health benefits, pet insurance, discounts on company products/services, time off for volunteer work, tuition reimbursement, retirement savings plans, and more.
According to Bloomberg, Apple has already enhanced benefits for their part-time and full-time employees. Employees will get double the paid sick days, more annual PTO, and paid parental leave. It’s time for you to make yourself competitive and stand out in the job market.
Besides the above benefits, it’s important to remember that employees are people with lives outside of work. If you can show a vested interest in their life away from work, they will be more invested in your business and culture.
Encourage Employee Advocacy
Employees should feel empowered to advocate for themselves and their workplace. This is especially important when working remotely is commonplace. Employee advocacy can be done by creating an environment where employees feel comfortable voicing their concerns and providing resources and support to help them take action. As a new workforce makes their way into the existing one, it’s essential that they feel comfortable speaking up and making their voice heard. As an employer, you need to create a strong culture of inclusion where everyone feels welcome and cared about. You can do this by creating opportunities for professional development for all employees. Encourage your employees to take advantage of these opportunities by promoting work-life balance and exploring new interests.
Another way to encourage employee advocacy is to offer opportunities outside of work. Highlighting this makes employees feel more invested in their employer and can be a great way to show you care about them as a person. Allowing employees to learn new skills or develop existing ones through workshops/training is an excellent way to show they value their workforce.
Collectively, encouraging employee advocacy can help your business maintain a positive culture, attract and retain top talent, and improve customer service.
Celebrate Milestones and Accomplishments
A distributed workforce is the reality for many employers in 2022, and it’s essential to find ways to celebrate milestones and accomplishments with your employees. This can be done in a formal or informal setting. Some ways to celebrate with hybrid and distributed workforces include:
- Organize a company-wide meeting or chat one-on-one with employees.
- Employee of the month Slack channel
- Create a personalized email to the team recognizing their efforts and how they contributed to the organization’s overall success.
- Send out an office-wide email listing out everyone’s accomplishments for the month.
- Surprise your employees by gifting celebratory items (flowers, chocolates, digital gift cards).
- Offer a single day off work to hang out with their family or friends.
- Send a personalized thank-you card for a job well done.
- Create a “thank you” wall in your office where employees can share their appreciation and recognition.
Employees appreciate feeling valued, and these small gestures can go a long way in creating an enjoyable workplace.
Promote A Healthy Work-Life Balance
The work-life balance has become a hot topic in recent years as more and more people recognize the importance of finding a happy medium. For employers, promoting a healthy work-life balance can be beneficial in several ways. First, it can help reduce stress levels in employees, leading to improved performance. Additionally, a healthy work-life balance can help attract and retain top talent and improve customer service.
A work-life balance isn’t always easy to achieve with remote employees. You must encourage your employees to make time for themselves, whether it’s outside of the office or within the confines of their workspace. Some ways to promote a healthy work-life balance include:
- Encourage employees to take one day off a week to focus on themselves.
- Allow employees to have flexible hours to work around extracurricular activities or other personal commitments.
- Give employees autonomy with their schedule while still staying within the confines of an employer-employee relationship.
- Create a culture where employees feel comfortable taking time off when necessary. It encourages them to take personal time without fear of negatively affecting their position.
- Introduce lunch-and-learns on new topics employees are interested in or learning more about.
- Host an ‘ask me anything’ session with guest speakers who can share knowledge on a topic that interests employees. This is a great way for workers to learn something new.
By taking these steps, employers can ensure that their employees are happy and productive.
Showcase The Company’s Values
Employers of choice embody the values and principles their employees look for in a job. An excellent way to do this is to highlight its core values and how they are reflected in the workplace.
This is a great way to attract top talent as it shows candidates that your company has a strong culture and values. It also helps employees understand the type of people their employer hires, increasing employment brand-recruitment synergy.
Employers should make an effort to remind employees about the company’s core values regularly. If possible, consider publishing this on your intranet’s landing page. Showcasing the company’s values can help attract and retain top talent while also delighting employees who feel like they are a part of a community that shares common values.
Make Employees Feel Valued
Employees need to feel valued to be happy and productive in their jobs. This can be difficult to achieve, but there are several steps that employers can take to make employees feel appreciated. First, help foster a positive work culture. This means creating a supportive environment where employees feel comfortable speaking up and sharing their ideas. Additionally, make sure your policies and procedures are clear and concise and are consistently applied. Finally, provide opportunities for employees to grow and develop their skills. This will allow them to learn and grow, and make them more valuable to your company.
If you want to be an Employer of Choice, it’s essential to focus on your company culture. This means offering competitive salaries and compensation, encouraging employee advocacy, celebrating milestones and accomplishments, promoting a healthy work-life balance, showcasing your company values, and making employees feel valued. Sounds like a lot of work? It is! But thankfully, Think People. Culture can help take some of the load off your shoulders. We know what it takes to create a unique employer brand, and we’re here to help you do just that. Contact us today for more information.
