'Clients are increasingly telling us that they're actually being interviewed by the candidate, rather than the other way around'
This article was produced in partnership with Gallagher.
Ksenia Stepanova of HRD Australia caught up with Greg Prove of Gallagher to discuss how employee experience attracts the best talent.
The war for talent is heating up, and job seekers are becoming pickier around the companies they choose to work for. It is now vital for organisations to make sure their employee offering is top notch, or at least in line with current market standards – because if it’s not, then the best talent will be heading to a competitor.
Greg Prove, principal consultant at Gallagher’s Benefits & HR Consulting division, said that to do this successfully, companies need to have an ongoing process of benchmarking. This means understanding what competitors are offering, what their benefits are and how they are retaining their talent, and considering what candidates want from an employer.
Without a benchmarking process, Prove said that companies are essentially ‘flying blind’, and have no way of knowing where they sit with their employee offering.
“Most organisations do some form of formal or informal comparative benchmarking – they read magazines and newspapers, talk to acquaintances, or gather intel from candidates,” Prove said.
“Others might subscribe to surveys to gather certain insights, and others might work with a consultant like Gallagher to undertake benchmarking on their behalf. All of this helps organisations to ensure they are putting their best foot forward, guiding decisions on a day-to-day basis.”
“It is vital to understand why a competitor is succeeding, or in some cases, not succeeding – otherwise you are flying blind to a certain extent,” he explained.
“You need that information to make better decisions for your organisation, and to create a competitive advantage. If you’re not undertaking any form of benchmarking, then you simply don’t know whether you’re offering more or less than you need to be.”
Prove noted that a poor employee offering will inevitably impact a company’s bottom line, as well as its ability to attract the best people. Many organisations have been making changes to their benefits as a result of benchmarking insights over the past several years, and having a solid grasp of market standards will help inform decisions around which benefits need adding or adjusting.
“We’re seeing a lot of organisations now making adjustments around their benefits, and moving their settings around flexible arrangements is a good example,” Prove said.
“Flexibility is very topical at the moment, we’re also seeing adjustments in the way development opportunities are being offered to employees, and enquiries around leadership programmes have also increased.”
Conversely, perks such as shopping discounts – which many Australian organisations offer – are valued less highly than more practical and ‘whole of employee’ options like progressing professional training and career development, salary sacrificing, and additional leave options.
“This highlights the importance of knowing which settings you need to adjust, and knowing what your employees are keen to see or adopt,” he explained.
“Gallagher recently did a survey where we spoke to 1,600 employees across Australia from a wide variety of sectors, and we did that to create a benchmark for other organisations who want to conduct their own wellbeing surveys. It helps organisations understand what’s important, and what they need to do to become more attractive to both new and existing employees.”
Whilst benefits programs are key to attracting candidates, the survey showed employers also need to ensure that they are creating a great workplace environment to retain candidates once they are in the door. For example, by having a clear company purpose that people can connect to and supportive leadership.
With job seekers now considering a broader range of factors before accepting an offer, Prove said that the ‘candidate experience’ is also becoming important. For many organisations, this means investing in the right tools to make sure candidates are not sitting in the waiting room for weeks, but are instead moving through the process quickly and efficiently. It’s also important to communicate clearly and provide feedback.
“Tools like Gallagher’s Predikt-r will help accelerate your candidates through the process, but don’t forget the candidate experience is more than just waiting times,” Prove said.
“How well are you communicating with candidates? Do you have an approach to providing feedback? Is your process efficient and take into account family obligations of candidates. Monitor your candidate satisfaction ratings and work towards making it as high as it can be.”
“Companies need to understand how they’re going to pitch their offering, and clients are increasingly telling us that they’re actually being interviewed by the candidate, rather than the other way around!” Prove concluded.
“Companies need to be able to respond to candidates and what they are looking for in their next role from a whole of employee perspective. It’s a bit out there, but the next rock star for your organisation might just accept an offer from a competitor because they were offering pet insurance, and you weren’t.
“All of these factors will ultimately make you more attractive to candidates, and will ensure you are doing everything possible to attract the best talent.”
Greg Prove is a commercially astute, generalist human resources and HSE professional, with more than twenty years’ experience partnering with line managers at both a hands on and strategic level. He works with Effectus Consulting, which is now part of the Gallagher group of Companies.
