While employee benefits in the form of health insurance coverage, salary and job perks are traditionally viewed as the most reliable ways in which to entice employment seekers to inquire about an open position, there's something to be said for the type of personality that a company portrays, as a positive impression in this respect may be the ultimate key to attracting more workers, according to the results of a recent survey.
More than three-quarters of workers said that the most important quality they wanted in a potential employer was honesty, human resources and staffing services company Randstad revealed in a new poll. A similarly high percentage of respondents said it was key that the employer be reliable. At 62 percent and 51 percent, respectively, secure and well-respected were other crucial personality traits.
The Randstad study also examined some of the least referenced personality characteristics. Just 6 percent said they wanted their employer to be daring and robust, and only 4 percent desired traits that were indicative of masculinity.
"It's extremely valuable for employers to know honesty holds such high importance," said Jim Link, chief HR officer at Randstad. "Leading organizations understand a strong employer brand creates an important advantage for attracting today's best talent, so identification of the top attributes wanted in a company allows leaders to refine their brand strategy."
Workers want job security
Another feature that prospective workers evaluate in a potential landing spot for a job is knowing that they'll be able to remain with the company for the foreseeable future. Besides salary and benefits, the most common attribute that respondents cited as being influential in their decision to take a position was long-term job security, Randstad revealed. A pleasant working atmosphere and a good work/life balance were also referenced at 49 percent and 43 percent, respectively.
Once employers successfully attract top-tier talent, the next challenge is to prevent or discourage workers from wanting to leave the company for alternative employment.
John Challenger, chief executive of his own employment consulting firm, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the economy has gotten to the point in which employees are willing to take a risk by seeing what else is out there if they're unhappy with where they are now.
"A lot of the people, especially the ones who are most attractive to other companies, very well may have been saying to themselves, 'I'll hold out here because job security is more important than job advancement and job interest and money,'" said Challenger. "We're seeing more people begin to say, 'OK, now I can take more chances.'"
He added that when business owners have workers that are very valuable to the company's success, it's important to inform those people, letting them know just how much they're appreciated.
"Listen to what they're looking for and give them assignments and expand their skill sets and challenge them," the employment consulting firm CEO told the Journal Sentinel. "Talk with them about their career development within the organization."
