Conference News May 2022 | Page 49

49 Recruitment of the benefits you can offer may be really simple , such as starting benefits ( like healthcare ) on day one and not making employees wait until they have passed their probation period . A few extra days ’ holiday is also a great benefit and will be received better than Friday drinks . Now everyone ’ s at home a bit more , they ’ re probably more productive but they ’ re not working as many hours . They ’ re not working nine-five , they ’ re probably working 10-four , but getting the same amount of work done . So , what would really happen if you gave everyone six extra days holiday ? I ’ m pretty sure that your business won ’ t implode overnight , so it ’ s a great benefit to the employee with little cost or impact to the business .

Candidates are interviewing you , just as much as you are interviewing them . Personalising your offering can make you look like an employer of choice , rather than just another company to choose against . If you take a jobseeker ’ s point of view , they will be looking at your project manager job against the other project manager job that they ’ ve been offered , and it ’ s up to them to make a decision . So , why are they going to say yes to you rather than to the other company ?
It ’ s about their standard of living just as much as the cost of living now , but one size does not fit all . Parental leave may be important to some of your team , private healthcare to others . Give your team a pick ‘ n ’ mix approach and let them decide what is important to them .
Temperature check Personalisation should also flow into ongoing benefits and ways of working for your existing team . Take the upcoming World Cup ; before announcing that you will allow everyone to watch matches , consider that it might not be everyone ’ s cup of tea . Do a temperature check and ask your team if it is something they would like to do . You can say that you have some ideas and you ’ d appreciate their feedback . Forcing people to do something that you consider to be fun may actually alienate them .
Understand what keeps your current team there , but don ’ t just ask if they would recommend you to a friend – because they will always say ‘ yes ’. Instead , ask them what they would say to their friends about what it ’ s like to work there and where it could be improved upon .
Go back to your last couple of recruits and ask them to talk you through the candidate experience from their perspective ; what were the pinch points , or clunky parts , and discuss how it could be improved . Conversely , what went well ? What were the good parts that we need to make more of next time ?
The needs of your people are more important than ever , and those needs need to be met . work-life blend is real and remember that it ’ s not just about you and what you want – it ’ s about you and them ; two really is the magic number . CN www . conference-news . co . uk