Why do people talk to recruiters…the answer may seem obvious, because they need a job. BUT, this is not always the case, and a trend we’ve been seeing more of lately! Candidates are talking to peoplezest not because they necessarily need a job, but because something about their current situation has left a window of opportunity to connect.
We have had a handful of interactions recently that led to passive job seekers replying to job alert emails we have sent out. These candidates were all employed and had been with their current company for 2+ years. None of them were actively looking, but when we popped into their inbox they hit reply and started conversations that led to interviews.
The commonalities we are seeing most are pay, appreciation, and value.
Let me take a moment to talk about the first one—pay. It may seem the most obvious, everyone should be paid their worth and as pay transparency in job descriptions has become more prevalent, talking about salary has as well. Salaries have trended upward, but so has the cost of replacing a good employee. When a position opens up the company is left with a replacement budget, and the hiring manager is left with finding the best talent they can find within that. Now in today’s competitive job market this can be tricky but if a company is not paying someone their worth, they will lose them to a company that can. This leads to a higher rate of turnover and transitions, which cost way more than a salary increase.
Appreciation—this one can be hard to hear. Nowadays it is so easy to throw a phrase on a t-shirt or hashtag a motto, but it is less often followed through. We are seeing more and more people leave companies due to feeling under or unappreciated. There are so many ways that leadership can step up and make real gestures to make their employees feel appreciated. Simple ideas like: telling them and meaning it, letting them know you see how hard they have been working and observing a no work policy on the weekend, or no emails after 5:30 pm during the week. If you caught our farm email you might have even been inspired to bring a cold watermelon to a meeting as a way to say thanks!
And last but certainly not least—value. Employees want to be heard. About 6 months ago I was working on an open position and the COO specifically told me this person would have a seat at the table during decision making meetings. I used this very statement when telling candidates about the opportunity. It was amazing how they hung onto this description. They wanted to have a seat at that table and have their input actually matter. I ended up pulling someone from a tenured job of 10 years to another company that was a lateral move because of that sentiment. To me, that speaks volumes.
I like to ask my team to always come to our meetings with solutions. I want to hear what they think. It is wonderful to hear that their ideas are way better than mine. One of the best things I have done through my own growth as a leader is to try and keep my mouth shut and listen.
Peoplezest looks forward to continuing to listen to your needs through executive placements, strategizing services, career counseling and resume updates.