Making Your Company Irresistible to Candidates
If you spend any time on LinkedIn, you will often see a job post shared. “Come work with us! We’re great! Here’s the job!”
If this is you (or someone you know…), I have bad news. Unfortunately, no potential employee is required to be interested in your company. In fact, to win in today's competitive labor market, you will need a compelling narrative that makes a candidate pause.
This narrative on why someone should want to work at your company, also known as an Employee Value Proposition (EVP), “can reduce the compensation premium by 50% and reach 50% deeper into the labor market when candidates view an EVP as attractive,” according to Gartner Research.
But the benefit of building out your narrative does not stop with recruiting. Gartner goes on to share that “organizations that effectively deliver on their EVP can decrease annual employee turnover by just under 70%.” But where do you start with building out this EVP for your company and/or a role on your team?
Here's the three-part framework we use at Forge Search when we are recruiting for clients (and for ourselves!):
Identify the purpose your company is fulfilling: why do you exist? How are you making a difference in the world or in your community?
We are all looking for meaning in the work we do. Don't overcomplicate this step - all work is meaningful and makes the world go round. Even if you’re making widgets, you still provide a necessary role in the larger economy. If you’re an accounting firm, you’re helping business owners and individuals pay less taxes, etc.
What problem do you currently have that this new role / team member would help solve? Or, how would the right person in the right role change the organization for the better?
This takes the “purpose” conversation to another level, and allows the potential employee to have insight into the meaning their specific work provides. At this stage, you’ve shown that the company is fulfilling a unique, intentional purpose and then that the role itself fills a unique purpose. You are creating significance for the potential employee.
Flip the Script: What is the significance of this role to the candidate’s personal and professional growth? What can you offer the potential employee as a result of their time with the company?
Success is a two-way street. Exposure to certain clients, caring mentors, flexibility for personal needs, learning new technologies, etc.? How will they leave better than they came?
I like to think of this as a funnel. Start at the top (company-level) and then work down to the person themselves. How will this create meaning in his or her own life? As leaders, the narrative we create for our team members will determine our success in recruiting.
Tying each role back to its significance creates purpose and vision that is greater than one person. These are not easy questions to think through. But an intentional thought process will make you a better leader, and the company a better place to work.
Tying each role back to its significance creates purpose and vision that is greater than one person.
If you’re interested in exploring more about an Employee Value Proposition (and there truly is so much more to be explored!), consider this excellent article by Harvard Business Review. A systematic approach to your company narrative “allows your organization to move from reacting to the demands of the moment—whether they’re for signing bonuses or remote work—to creating an environment that enables people to reach their full potential. And that is the key to building an organization that thrives over the long haul.”