Now that wellbeing schemes are in place, how can they be used to support recruitment?
We had an interactive website, loads of content, old school paper-based assessments (that were then achingly new school), mechanical step-o-meters and, importantly, great clients that paid us.
Our secret? We never lost sight of why they paid our bills – we demonstrated how we impacted bottom line every day through key metrics of talent retention and attraction, performance improvement and engagement scores. I loved it.
Whilst wellbeing has thankfully moved beyond that early trend, for many it’s a critical construct of organisational strategy and performance that these key metrics still resonate with organisational leaders.
Don’t get me wrong, I still see plenty of poor examples – the mung beans, gym membership and lentils will, I think, always be around. However, those programmes with real staying power continually link directly back to leadership, culture and a sense of community that is more important now than ever.
Now that wellbeing programmes are well established, what’s next? Our research points to an emerging trend where the approach to wellbeing underlines how attractive your brand is to new talent by showcasing your leadership, culture and that sense of community.
If your brand were on tinder which way would new hires swipe?
We’ve spotted four themes that great employers are getting right and the fast followers would do well to take action.
1. Wellbeing programme visibility
Almost 60% of new hires have decided whether you are the right fit for them before the interview. That’s across graduates, apprenticeships and school leavers, in all sectors.
Think about how people consume information now – when was the last time you read page after page of Times New Roman script to choose the latest blockbuster from Netflix?
In their article The importance of mental health strategies in attracting top talent Robert Walters set out the gap between where you are publishing content and where your people are looking to find it.
That little device in a candidate’s hand gives them access to sites like Glassdoor, your own intranet and peer networks that tell them a version of the experience that you’re not curating. Employers could and should own that story.
If you need a good example have a look at Co-op or SAP. Both have their story locked down, there is a clear link back to their values and, even better, this matches the employee experience on Glassdoor.
2. Hiring managers are your front line
What’s the elevator pitch? Does everyone know it? The new hire experience starts with that first engagement – even at interview. And all too often the hiring manager doesn’t have the story locked down.
We’ve identified that hiring managers are one of the most important touch points for prospective hires and they need a lot more help. As interviews move to being more two-way, getting the genuine employee experience across can’t be left to chance.
3. It’s all about choice – their choice
Job hunters expect to see a menu of choices that fit with them, their lifestyle and their own ambitions. Working at home on a Friday, or all the time, isn’t a thing, it’s part of a cultural shift that talks to trust embodied in values – and job hunters are measuring you on the range of choice that you present.
Demonstrating how you accommodate and embrace a diverse workforce has to be front and centre of your programme.
4. Financial wellbeing is important too
Empathy is in short supply and there is a near perfect disconnect between employers, decision makers and new hires when it comes to financial solutions.
Most graduates have considerable debt burdens, and that’s before they even begin the process of asset accumulation through workplace savings and pensions. There is a lot of research pointing to this generational shift and the implications for mental health and wellbeing.
Savvy organisations that demonstrate that they have credible tools, solutions and ideas that support the economic betterment of employees are winning new talent faster.
And that brings me neatly back to where I started. In 20 years the problems that employers are grappling with haven’t changed that much. The tools used to solve them differ and those employers that place the employee experience at the heart of their offering, in all that they do, recruit better people, keep better people and put simply, get more people to swipe right.
The authors are Alistair Dornan, director, organisational wellbeing and Andy McLeod, director, people service and excellence, Gallagher.
This article is provided by Gallagher.
In partnership with Gallagher
Consultancy services including organisational wellbeing, culture change and internal communications.
