September 26th, 2019
The employment market in Romania has rapidly changed over the past years. Observing what’s happening in western countries, Romanian candidates gained more confidence in expressing their preferences and changing jobs when they are not satisfied with their current. The situation is also amplified by the dynamic expansion of companies and a growing number of job opportunities on the market.
This is why, for our 14th edition of the Most Desired Employers Survey, we have discovered the external factors associated with the most desired employers. At the same time, we went in-depth with analyzing criteria that can make a difference during the recruitment process, leading to accepting a job offer.
While financial aspects are still deeply integrated with factors associated with the most desired employers, analyzing the criteria candidates use when choosing their next employer, we can observe that the salary offer doesn’t top the list. It remains one of the top 5, but it isn’t the most important thing.
In this article, we will walk you through the first three criteria that received the highest score of importance (on a scale from 1 to 5) and share useful tips on how to effectively expose them to candidates.
4.79 – Performance recognition
Employee recognition rewards and reinforces particular behaviours, practices, or activities that result in better performance and positive business results. It has a great impact on employee engagement as they feel that their work is appreciated. Also, it boosts self-esteem as they are acknowledged by leaders or peers for being good at what they do.
In many organizations recognition and financial reward are linked together, but it’s a tactic that often backfires. Financial incentives do not result in long term engagement, their impact is mainly focused on a short-term boost in the level of engagement. Therefore, cultivating a culture of appreciation in your organization is recommended, one that includes both formal and informal employee recognition.
As employees need to feel appreciated and research shows us that human beings thrive on recognition, you can easily start to build this type of culture with simple gestures: a genuine compliment, ‘thank you’ notes, small words of praise in front of the team or little words of encouragement to reassure the team that they are on the right track.
4.76 – Pleasant work environment
While performance recognition was cited most often amongst survey respondents as being the highest on a scale of importance, not far behind was the pleasant work environment. Most of us spend a huge proportion of our lives at work, so naturally, it is important that we have a good environment to work in.
The pleasant work environment is linked with the human factor (team vibe and the way people relate with one another) and the design of the office space – providing different types of working spaces and recreational areas.
You can create a sense of community by organizational social events outside work hours or different initiatives in the office that could give people the opportunity to socialize and get to know each other, maybe even discover common passions or hobbies.
The office environment reflects your organizational culture and impacts the general wellbeing at work. Having well-defined areas for socializing, relaxing, team meetings or individual alone time can boost significantly the employee efficiency and productivity levels.
4.75 – Leaders encourage and support employee development
People expect to move onwards and upwards, improve their skills set and build on new competencies. Therefore, next on our list is leaders encouragement and support of employee development.
It goes without saying that employers who contribute to the realization of employee aspirations generate employee loyalty. It all comes down to taking some one-on-one time, to better understand your employee’s career aspirations and recognize their skills and needs. We know that there might be more important matters to deal with right now, but think of it as a long-term investment, not only in the future of your employees but also in the future of your company.
Key Takeaways
It comes as no surprise, that most successful employers are the ones that work the hardest to ensure employee satisfaction, and it’s up to managers to make sure they’re giving their people what they want to the best of their abilities. What we can see from the results above, what helps you win talents always relate to a transparent and inclusive culture, directed on employees and their needs.
The question is how you can better communicate all of these prior to a job application or during the recruitment process in order to build your employer brand and attract the right talent in your organization.
—-> For more groundbreaking insight’s based on this year’s edition of the Most Desired Employers Survey, check out our free eBook, where you can find much more about candidate’s perception of Romanian talent market in 2020.
