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What do financial professionals look for when considering their next career move? Whilst salary might be the obvious factor for some, for many high-achieving candidates, it’s about company culture and working environment.
To ensure you build a reputation as an employer of choice, Halliday Marx have put together their top 5 tips for attracting quality candidates.
It is critical that employees understand the bigger picture, and how their role will help to achieve these goals. Employees are much more likely to engage in something they helped to create.
Communication through weekly team meetings and emails is important, but it is also good practise to hold all-employee events where senior management can share what they are working on and take questions. Many organisations also benefit hugely from company off-sites. These are great for knowledge sharing and will allow employees to discuss all aspects of the existing workplace, often identifying opportunities to improve.
When it comes to strengthening your reputation, your own employees are your best ambassadors. Company culture is widely highlighted and marketed through social media and websites like LinkedIn, making it so much easier to gain insight into potential organisations. ‘Meet the Team’ pages and employee profiles are extremely popular, and will encourage potential candidates to take a look at your website.
Employee engagement is not static, it is good practise to have processes in place to monitor engagement regularly. Do your employees care about their work and believe they are making a real contribution? Do they feel valued and are they proud of where they work? Your staff are the experts regarding the everyday processes and running of your organisation. They are the best people to tell you if anything needs improvement. Employee satisfaction surveys can be a useful tool here, but make sure you have a process to follow-up on feedback.
Does your organisation put an emphasis on helping employees meet their personal career objectives? In order to drive key talent, career development and growth opportunities are paramount. It is essential to have a process in place for assessing and providing training and development. Coaching and mentoring schemes are also hugely popular, and can be a cost-effective way to help employees develop their skills and experience.
There are two types of factors that can motivate employees which are tangible and intangible. It is important to have a good balance of both. Intangible benefits are the emotional rewards that employees feel by doing their job, such as, personal fulfilment or a sense of achievement.
These benefits should never be underestimated, as they can significantly boost the day-to-day enjoyment of the role and are linked to employee retention. If an employee feels gratified by the job itself, they are more likely to continue investing in it and in the organisation’s future.
There are many ways to boost intangible benefits, from team drinks at the end of a major project to a simple thank you. It’s about making people feel valued.
However, no matter how satisfying a job may be, at the end of the day employees still want to be rewarded appropriately. The best approach to attracting top financial talent and holding onto them for the long term, is to find the right balance between the two. Tangible benefits such as salary, bonuses, pension and other financial rewards will always play a part.
If employees have a sense of purpose, they will feel more engaged and will spread the word and help attract other top talent. Make sure staff understand how their work contributes to the bigger picture. Remuneration is important, but remember to say thank you and recognise when people and teams have worked successfully.
Constantly look for ways to improve, and reinforce your values. Offer employees a way of moving upwards or specialising in their field.
We spend a large amount of time at work and most people want to be in an environment that is enjoyable. Once you have established yourself as an employer of choice, the rest will take care of itself.
To learn more about how we can help you attract top financial talent, call our specialist consultants us on 020 7096 8200 or email us at [email protected]
For the latest financial opportunities, company updates, recruitment information and career advice, follow us on LinkedIn and twitter @HallidayMarx
