This means aligning your values, culture, and workplace incentives with the wants and needs of talent in your sector.

Here’s how you can optimise your employer brand, workforce strategy, and HR processes to attract the best new talent to your team.

Being an ‘employer of choice’ means your business is regarded by candidates/employees as a desirable, if not exemplary workplace. This gives your employer brand the strength it needs to attract top talent in your sector, and retain employees for the long-run.

Your employer brand is the first thing candidates will consider before applying to join your company. To become an ‘employer of choice’, you’ll need to build your brand’s reputation within the job market, proving your company as a positive, supportive workplace.

Becoming an ‘employer of choice’ may not be easy, but it’s essential for attracting the best talent in your sector. Without a strong employer brand, you’ll find it difficult to attract and retain new talent – losing out to competing employers.

Here’s how you can strengthen your employer brand reputation to secure more of your sector’s sought-after talent.

Your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is the collection of incentives and benefits given to your employees in return for their hard work. This includes individual benefits like healthcare schemes and bonuses, as well as company-wide incentives like staff socials and flexible working.

To make your company an ‘employer of choice’, you need to ensure your EVP remains in line with your employees’ expectations. This means evaluating your company culture and benefits package on a regular basis, and acting on employees’ suggestions.

Survey your colleagues to identify which values, benefits, and cultural factors matter most/least to them. What makes them choose you as their employer, and what would they change given the chance?

This will help you to construct an EVP that truly resonates with both your existing workforce and new talent in your sector.

Employees are rarely happy in stagnant job roles – they want to learn, develop, and thrive in their careers!

Approach learning and development proactively. Provide training courses, peer-to-peer learning, and regular performance reviews to give your employees access to future opportunities.

Many companies list ‘learning and development’ as a generic benefit, yet fail to deliver when it comes to their day-to-day workforce strategy. Don’t be one of them – be an employer that encourages, and actively supports its employees growth and development!

An ‘employer of choice’ is one that listens to, and acts upon the feedback of its employees.

Make your colleagues heard – hold regular 1:1s, surveys, and strategy sessions to gain their input on your company’s development.

This can relate to absolutely any part of your company’s strategy – be this your HR policies, cultural values, employee benefits, or leadership style.

Communicate any company-wide changes to your employees, and gain their feedback before moving forward. This helps to keep your brand’s vision in line with your employees’ expectations, increasing engagement levels and boosting staff retention.

Every workplace encounters engagement issues from time to time – whether this relates to friction between colleagues, operational structure, or an individuals’ career goals.

Unfortunately, if left unhandled, such challenges can quickly lead to resignations, and disengaged team-members.

Be proactive in your approach to engagement challenges – make sure employees have regular, personalised 1:1 sessions with relevant managers. This will help you to identify engagement issues before they begin to affect your workforce, and damage your employer brand.

Don’t ignore the signs of friction within your workforce. Make sure employees feel supported, and have their concerns heard on a regular basis.

The modern workplace is constantly evolving. From flexible working initiatives to the office environment, employers are always looking for ways to make their workplace more appealing.

Stay ahead of the curve with the latest HR trends; keep track of other employers – even those outside of your immediate industry. Is there anything they’re doing to improve their workplace that you could adopt yourself?

It’s crucial to maintain a dynamic, forward-thinking workplace strategy – don’t let other employers beat you to the best new talent.

Make sure your company culture, employee benefits, and workplace remain in line with the latest trends. This is vital for making your employer brand more appealing than its competitors.

Talos Engage: Make your company an ’employer of choice’

Want to become an ‘employer of choice’ for talent in your sector? Introducing Talos Engage!

Talos Engage makes it easy to identify the wants, needs, and expectations of your employees, and beat the competition to the best talent.