As hiring managers compete for qualified candidates in the tightest labor market in 30 years, they’re finding themselves paying closer attention to their companies’ work environments. Flexible management styles that enable employees to more easily meet work and personal obligations have become a strong selling point and powerful recruiting tool for businesses today. Our company’s recent research tells the story. The number one career concern in the new millennium is being able to balance family and work demands — ahead of earning a competitive salary and job security — according to our major research study, Office of the Future: 2005. Increasingly, employees assess the culture, workplace environment, and flexibility of management when deciding whether to join or stay with a firm. In fact, corporate culture now rivals benefits as job applicants’ leading topic of inquiry during interviews, according to our company’s survey of Fortune 1000 executives. Additionally, one-third of executives responding said that work environment is the most important factor in keeping an employee satisfied — up dramatically from nine percent in 1993. A healthy corporate culture can provide an advantage in attracting talented workers. The stronger the candidate, the more he or she will want to make certain that your firm has a work environment in which people are treated with respect, communication is open, and ideas are encouraged and rewarded. To attract key talent, accentuate the characteristics of your business that will appeal most to candidates. Look for areas where your company excels and emphasize them when you interview applicants. For example, small firms may have more flexibility than larger companies when it comes to offering non-traditional benefits to employees. Here are some additional suggestions: Accommodate lifestyles. Promote management practices and personnel policies that allow for flexible hours and personal days when necessary. Consider providing on-site services that save employees time such as a cafeteria, automated teller machine and exercise facility. Trust and empower employees. Most people will work harder and do a better job if they are trusted to be responsible and empowered to make their own decisions. If you require extensive reporting and documentation of all activities by your employees, try a more hands-off approach that encourages greater autonomy for your staff. Solicit feedback. Talk to employees about their life outside of work, and periodically conduct an anonymous employee satisfaction survey. Important information will likely be uncovered. Listen carefully to what your staff members have to say, and be responsive to their concerns. Hire for the long term. The way a company hires, trains and rewards employees reveals a great deal about its culture. Hiring for aptitude and then training for career advancement is a significant way to build and retain staff. To hire the best people, companies are increasingly looking to make improvements from within. Programs that foster a healthy, dynamic work environment not only help attract talented individuals, but also increase staff loyalty and satisfaction while reducing turnover — a winning proposition for management and employees alike. Paul McDonald is the Western District Director of Robert Half International Inc. , a staffing service specializing in the accounting, finance and information technology fields, and parent company of Robert Half and Accountemps. See the company’s website at www.rhii.com.
