Employee benefits are often hidden during most of the initial recruiting and interviewing process, only to be pulled out right before hiring when a formal job offer is made to a candidate. While “better late than never” certainly applies to conveying the full value of your compensation, why not present your perks early in the recruiting process to make a statement?
With record-low unemployment rates, the race is on for HR teams to attract and land top talent. Companies are feeling the pressure by investing in more robust benefits packages to better support the diverse workforce. Putting these investments front and center during recruiting is a surefire way to pique candidates’ interest and keep perks top of mind during the process.
A recent report by Aflac indicated that 55% of employees would be at least somewhat likely to accept a job with lower compensation but a more robust benefits package. And, an impressive 10% of candidates indicated that benefits are the most important factor when deciding whether to accept or reject a job offer.
We’ve established that employee benefits are an important consideration for prospective employees. So, how can you clearly and concisely communicate the value of your benefits packages to land top talent? We’ve got three tips to help you stand out from the crowd.
1. Showcase Your Benefits Early
Prospective employees are likely shopping around during their job hunt, visiting multiple job sites and individual careers pages to scope out opportunities. Your careers page is often the very first impression a potential candidate will have of your company, so put your best foot forward with a well-designed and attractive experience.
A few tips for creating a rockstar careers page:
Use creative featuring real employees
Use testimonials (quotes or videos featuring names, titles, etc.)
Showcase company awards and accolades
Use video (employee testimonials, office tour, etc.)
List all employee benefits and perks
In addition to the above, your careers page should be easy to scan and navigate, clearly convey your company culture and values, and quickly “sell” the company experience.
Your careers page is a natural place to make a great first impression, but not every prospect will visit your corporate site during their search. Job boards and social media sites are often frequented during the job hunt, so be sure any other applicable pages (Glassdoor, LinkedIn, etc.) make a great first impression and include information about your awesome employee benefits.
2. Understand Your Candidates
The first step to impressing candidates with benefits during the recruiting process is to better understand their unique needs, wants, and motivations.
For example, a recent college graduate is likely more interested in your financial wellness programs, like student loan repayment and 401(k) match program, than voluntary life insurance and paid maternity leave. Of course, those might be important too—so don’t make any assumptions!
Instead, get to know your candidates on an individual basis and then put the most relevant perks front and center during key conversations.
3. Total Compensation Statement Offer
Showcasing the full value of your offer through a total compensation statement is a great way to visualize and communicate the true value of your package. Salary is important, but compensation includes so much more than what’s included in a paycheck.
A total compensation statement should include the full value of your compensation and more. The statement should include salary metrics, PTO, retirement account contributions, and more. Also, be sure to include overlooked perks, like parking or transit reimbursement, relocation stipends, or others. Every little cent matters to your company. It should be showcased to candidates to help them understand the full value of your investment in them as an employee.
Total compensation statements are available in two formats—print or digital. Print statements are a good fit if you want to send your prospect a review of your offer via an attachment, while digital statements are a better fit for one-on-one meetings to review an offer.
Do total comp statements actually work? Survey says: Yes! 95% of employees that receive a total rewards statement report having a greater understanding of their company compensation. How’s that for connecting with recruits?
There you have it—three quick and easy ways to put your employee benefits front and center during the recruiting process. Try at least one of these tactics during your next round of recruiting and see how your recruits are during the process.
Plus, once you’ve hired your new employees, ensure that you are on the right path for engagement and retention with this related article, How to Create an Effective Employee Onboarding Plan.