What do candidates look for when choosing to grow with an employer?

1. Culture? People join and ultimately stay with companies because they enjoy the environment and their values are aligned with the business.

1. Rewards? Frequent promotions, training opportunities, and salary reviews are great reasons for employees to feel satisfied and settled.

1. Good vibes? People gravitate to companies who treat them well and make them feel special.

The answer, of course, is all of the above.

In this article, we’ll explore how you can achieve this winning combination in just four steps, to become the growth focused employer that top talent is looking for.

1. Take a long term approach to talent attraction

A growth mindset approach to hiring means having a sustainable recruitment process that you can rely on as new talent needs arise. Anything less and you’re at the whims of a constantly changing market.

Companies who achieve this are able to predict talent needs 6-12 months in advance with a high degree of accuracy, and are prepared to meet those needs with a strong and engaged talent pipeline built through effective networking.

Being proactive has never been more important. Poor hires cost money, and are often the result of reactive and rushed decisions.

2. Align expectations and values

Any new job is marred with uncertainty and confusion. Learning the ropes and building confidence both take time, and if this doesn’t happen, there’s every chance the hire won’t work out. That’s a time consuming and costly mistake.

Growth focused companies understand the importance of a solid onboarding strategy.

People need to know what they’re there to do, what the purpose is behind their role, who they can turn to for help, and how they’ll meet their targets which should be clearly defined. Anything less means adding uncertainty and discomfort to an already precarious situation, which creates unnecessary risk.

It may seem odd to discuss progression early on, but that was likely a motivating factor from the candidate’s initial application, which is also why you put it in the ad. So the first conversation about progression shouldn’t be left to the first performance appraisal or probation review, it’s much better to set (and agree) expectations early and discuss them frequently.

3. Make culture your priority

More than anything else, culture can set you apart from your competition.

Candidates have an abundance of choice in a skills short market, but even as the market shifts, the best talent remains in hot demand.

Companies who create and nurture a positive working environment get more referrals, better glassdoor reviews, and generally make a better impression. In short, it makes it easier to hire.

There’s no single element that makes a culture great – it’s a culmination of everything that leads to a happy workforce. Staff are more satisfied when workloads are manageable, progression is expected, high performance is rewarded, and hard work is recognised.

4. Put care into your candidate experience

Your job requirement will come and go, but impressions can last a lifetime. So you don’t want to take them for granted.

Every candidate who reaches out to a company, or applies to an ad, or says yes to a recruiter’s advance is going to want feedback, or at the very least closure. They’re also unlikely to get feedback or closure from most hiring processes they end up in, so this is a golden opportunity for any company to stand out.

Candidate rejections are never easy, but it’s those companies who bother to handle the hard stuff that see their efforts pay off in abundance. If a rejected candidate could go on to become a brand advocate long into the future simply because you took time to give them considered and thoughtful responses, just imagine what else you could do.

The bottom line: Grow through the process

In the same way as a growth mindset makes an individual willing to step out of comfort zones, able to handle setbacks, and ready for lifelong learning – a growth mindset can set your company up to effectively face challenges, handle changing fortunes, and learn from every single experience.

Sustainable growth is never easy, but it will make you worthy of that ‘great employer’ badge you’ve been wearing all along. If you need a talent partner to help you get there, get in touch today.

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