How to get and keep the right people!

Small businesses are missing out top staff because they fail to realise what employees want when looking for a new position.

Site contributor Steve Ash reports on a recently commissioned survey of employers and employees which turns up some interesting results that should help small businesses make the most of their recruitment power...

A recent YouGov survey of employers and employees, commissioned by Croner, asked both parties what they thought staff looked for when seeking a new job and revealed a wide gulf between what bosses thought employees wanted and what they actually sought.

Employers said...

Almost two-thirds (65%) of employers surveyed felt company reputation was the most important criterion, followed by the quality of workplace culture and environment (55%) and staff development programmes such as training and promotion (52%).

Employees said...

But only 22% of employees questioned felt reputation was a key factor, making it only the sixth most important consideration. The top two reasons for picking a new company are far more practical: location (cited by 47%) and holiday entitlement (43%).

Flexible working was an important factor for 39% of staff, while the quality of workplace culture was highlighted by 38% and 28% pointed to staff development.

“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,” said Gillian Dowling, technical consultant at Croner. “Although little can be done about location, home-working can be a powerful benefit to business employees, as can offering other flexible solutions such as later start times or job-sharing.

“Employers may be missing out on top talent by failing to accommodate flexible working needs,” she added. “They may have to be more inventive about the benefits they offer. And, with changes to statutory holiday entitlement expected to come in from this October, even the option of being able to offer extra holidays as an enticement will have less appeal to job candidates in a competitive marketplace.”

Get the very best

Here is some basic business advice for recruiting and retaining the best staff:

• Consider the needs of the business and how the position you are recruiting for fits into your mid to long-term plans
• Prepare a well thought-out job description which describes exactly your expectations of the position. It will make the selection process easier and also help your new employee understand what is expected of them
• Avoid the ’golden halo‘ effect of external job applicants. External candidates often seem more dynamic and attractive than existing employees because it is easier for external candidates to ’sell‘ themselves, whereas internal candidates have been viewed in all circumstances by management
• Keep a central database of prospective candidates and everyone who writes in with their CV on a speculative basis
• Keep an open mind. Do not make assumptions about a candidate. Assumptions that a woman or a member of a particular racial group would not feel welcome in the community or would not be able to relate well to others of different groups are damaging and will work against your diversity efforts. Also, do not make assumptions about a person‘s willingness to re-locate

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