A “Recruiting” sign is displayed on the window of an IN-N-OUT fast food restaurant in Encinitas, California, May 9, 2022.
Mike Blake | Reuters
When it comes to salaries, small business owners often don’t join the same league as larger companies.
Now it’s even more complicated in a tight labor market with rising wages and with more states and cities Post the salariesthis can make small businesses look even less attractive from a salary perspective.
The risk is particularly high as small businesses are still in hiring mode even as the economy slows and finding workers doesn’t get any easier. 86% of small business owners have expressed plans to hire one or more workers in the next year or two, according to an October survey from employee scheduling company Homebase. Meanwhile, the National Federation of Independent Business, the main trade group for small business, reported last week a drop in confidence for the tenth straight month on Main Street, although little has changed. change in the need to hire more workers.
“Owners continue to express a bleak view of sales growth and future business conditions, but are still looking to hire new workers,” said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Inflation, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages continue to limit the ability of many small businesses to meet demand for products and services.”
The NFIB’s own employment report shows that among hiring owners, 90% report having little or no qualified candidates for positions.
Here are five ways small businesses can level the playing field to attract top talent.
Tick more than salary in the window
Jim Marx, director of retirement planning at Edelman Financial Services, recently drove past a convenience store that had a “competitive benefits” ad in its window, highlighting perks like retirement plans. company placement, medical aid, and student loan assistance. “I was surprised to see that. Obviously they want to attract good talent and that’s what they’re highlighting,” he said.
The Problem: Small businesses need to make sure that candidates know the benefits of referring to them beyond the potentially higher starting salary.
Kayla Lebovits, managing director and founder of Bundle Profit, a completely remote company focused on wellbeing, career development and team building, said: “Benefits should be highlighted in the description. job description and discussed in every interview, referral and training process. “If it’s only mentioned in the job description, but not featured in job interviews, [a candidate] would think it’s not real.”
Engage current employees in the hiring process
Lebovits found it effective to invite employees who actively use the company’s various benefits to participate in the interview process. This way, candidates get a real-world feel for how benefits like the company’s home appliance allowance and partnership membership allowance work.
“These are not expensive items, but employees take advantage of them,” says Lebovits.
Having a pre-conversation about benefits and figuring out what’s important to the candidate is important because it sets the tone for the future. “It communicates that the candidate is important to the organization,” said Victoria Hodgkins, chief executive officer of PeopleKeep, a benefits management software company. “In this work environment, candidates want to know that, and that gives them the opportunity to ask questions and gain insight.”
Research employee usage patterns, based on common perks
Small businesses often can’t afford to offer the full range of benefits that large companies can, but they can provide a coveted range of benefits that employees regularly use. “Identify what people are actually using and those are the things you should promote because obviously those are the things people value most,” says Lebovits.
Notably, benefits related to retirement, health and welfare can be of great help in improving an employee’s financial well-being. While most workers believe these benefits are important, there is a significant gap between the percentage of people who consider them important and the percentage that employers provide. grants them, according to an October study by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Research. “This presents an opportunity for employers to increase the competitiveness of their compensation and benefits packages, while helping their employees achieve longer-term financial security,” the study said. shows.
In general, health benefits are also in high demand. According to a recent survey by TalentLMS, a learning management system backed by Epignosis and financial healthcare companies, a notable majority of employees, 68%, say they are more likely to be likely to stay in their current job longer if their employer offers financial health benefits. Tap Test and Get Rich. The survey also found that 61% of employees are more likely to stay in their current job if provided with resources and training in financial health.
Childcare leave is another important benefit worth considering. A recent survey from disability insurance provider Breeze found that most employees want their employers to allow paid parental leave instead of vision insurance, benefits employer-paid education or mental health, employer-paid social events, or student loan repayment assistance. The survey looked at 1,000 actively employed adults between the ages of 22 and 40.
Avoid an equal benefit approach
It is important to offer a range of benefits that may appeal to different people.
For example, don’t just offer yoga or meditation apps or gym benefits; Lebovits says it offers multiple ways for employees to recharge. “Everyone takes care of themselves very differently.”
And while Breeze’s research shows parental leave is more common than vision insurance for workers 40 and younger, that could change as they reach “wearing age” reading glasses”.
There can be significant differences in the types of benefits that attract employees based on gender, age, and type of work environment.
A survey in May of more than 900 small business employees by PeopleKeep found that 70% of women consider mental health benefits “very or extremely” important, compared with 49% of men. Women also value flexible work schedules (84% to 70%), paid leave (73% to 61%) and career development (64% to 57%) more than men, while men consider pay more for phone and internet bills than women (40% to 32%), according to the survey.
Turn existing employees into referrals
If your current employees are satisfied, they will be more likely to recommend the vacant position at your company to others. This means making sure current employees are excited about the benefits you offer — and to achieve this, you have to make sure employees feel engaged.
62% of respondents to a recent Edelman Financial survey said they “do not always feel represented” in their company’s message of interest. This sentiment is even more prominent among women, with 68% saying they do not always feel included – significantly higher than men (58%).
The survey found that 93% of employees who don’t always feel represented said they were more likely to avail of financial healthcare assistance if it was personalized to their platform and complete. their particular family situation.
Finally, small businesses need to understand what attracts job seekers in the first place and leverage these advantages in all candidate interactions. According to Homebase, 70% of small businesses report a sense of community, followed by flexibility in the workplace (69%), close relationships with colleagues (66%) and closer relationships with employees. manager (53%).
