In this competitive market, it’s important that a business knows if their jobs stack up to others like theirs.

It’s even more true if you are in competition with other similar businesses near you.

Good businesses can loose quality candidates because of their job offers due to the following: lower than market wage, the wrong (or not enough) benefits, not clearly communicating the job in the job posting, or not showcasing your company culture.

In order to hire effectively in a competitive market the objective is to get yourself in position to get an “at bat” with the best possible talent in the market. The first and most important step is evaluating your job opportunity and entire compensation package versus the other companies competing for the same talent in your regional market.

While pay isn’t everything, you must make sure that your salary and benefits are competitive. Great candidates who are skilled and qualified are going to take their talents to the place that offers the most appealing overall package. You need to ensure your salary and benefits are competitive and in the ballpark to attract top talent and even more job seekers.

So how do you avoid missing top talent due to lower than market wage, the wrong (or not enough) benefits, not clearly communicating the job in the job posting, or not showcasing your company culture.

Consider what other perks and benefits a person has when joining your company besides wages and benefits.

Consider the entire package you offer to someone joining your company. Take a poll of your current employees ti know what they find most valuable to them so you know what key points you need to emphasize in the job posting and also during interviews.

Benefit plans, 401K plans, and similar perks are great but also consider opportunities for flexibility, training and skill development, growth and career advancement.

Make sure to do your research.

Look at job postings for the same type of positions in your regional area. What are other companies highlighting, promoting, and offering?

Invest time in listing out who your competition is in your area and in your region. These are other businesses that either do what you do or have job roles that are similar (or even identical) to what you have in your business.

After you list out your competition, search their site and job posting sites for open job postings and see what they say. You may find that this helps you determine that you actually do have a competitive offer you just haven’t made that crystal clear to job applicants (and read our blog on what to do if your job posting isn’t getting the right kind of applicants to dig even deeper into this topic).

Further research can be done internally as well. Do a salary and benefits evaluation. This will help you review your wages in order to ensure you are remaining competitive in the hiring game. Evaluating your salary and benefits will also help your retention efforts.

Make sure you are clearly communicating the job role in your job posting.

The first thing you need to think about when creating a comprehensive job posting to attract the right candidates is making sure the job role and basic skills are both listed and complete. Review what you have listed for job skills and have someone who has that same or similar job role review it also. This ensures that you have the best and most accurate list of job skills required for your positions.

Dig deeper into who has held this job in the past and come up with a comprehensive job profile for your ideal candidate – and then reverse engineer your posting to reflect things that they would care about. See what previous top talent employees had for background, skills, and applicable education and see if there are common similarities between them. Consider changing the job posting and requirements to reflect what skills and requirements your top talent possessed to find candidates just like them.

Also poll your current staff overall to ensure that what they find most valuable and important appears on the job posting. What does your current staff believe are the best selling points of the company and the opportunity? Why did they choose or continue to choose to work at your business?

All of this research helps to paint a comprehensive picture of what your job posting should include to attract the top talent to your job posting and your business.

Showcase how great your company culture is.

In the fierce competitive market we currently have for hiring, it’s important to find ways to show potential employees that your business is a great fit for them.

And what better way to do that than to showcase your company culture.

Review your employment brand. Make sure you can showcase how employees gain purpose and fulfillment by working at your business. Also make sure it’s clear how your employees contribute to the big picture and that anyone who works at your business understands their value and worth. And it’s another way to really emphasize the value of your current employees in a way that your current employees find motivation to continue to do their jobs (so a win for both current and future employees!).

If you want a few more tips on how to showcase your company culture and supercharge your recruiting and hiring, read our blog about it!

Let us help.

We have been helping businesses with all aspects of recruiting and hiring for the past 17 years – so we know a thing or two. We help businesses by implementing a holistic approach to recruiting and hiring and we’d love to help you. Contact us today to learn more about how we help businesses Build A Workforce That Works.