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Before you look at what is needed to become an employer of choice, it’s important that you truly want to offer genuine support to your employees.

There must be a real desire to do the best by your people, which will require you to look at the benefits and package you offer staff, as well as the policies you have in place and what development you offer.

A company that is an employer of choice will usually have high ethics and morals, a compassionate attitude, and a competitive flare to be and offer the best in the market.

Becoming an employer of choice means going far beyond the minimum requirements and having a forward-thinking mentality.

Lets look at the six key areas you need to consider

1.  A flexible working policy that includes hybrid working

Flexible working policy – a policy suited to the employee’s needs: It could be focused on hours worked & where they work. Do you have a flexible working policy agreed with your employees?

Have you considered a hybrid working model where employees work between the office and home? If you want to become an employer of choice you must actively encourage and promote a work-life balance for your team/s.

2.  Company culture: your values & ethics

What is your company culture at its core? Is it a healthy workplace that values its employees? We are currently seeing a candidate’s market, where they are a lot of positions available and not as many people looking for work.

You have to look at how attractive you are to a prospective candidate. What do you stand for? What values do you run your company by and do business?

You could look at what you do for the environment and the community around you, or potential charities you could support.

3.  Health and Safety: what it really means in terms of the wellbeing of employees

How much do you really care about the health & safety of your staff, or are you just doing the basic minimum?

Companies that put employee wellbeing and experience above anything are leaders at employers of choice. So, if you have any home workers, are you mitigating against risk, and do you know how they are working?

Are your employees valued or are they another cog in the machine?

You could think about what you could put in place to ensure the wellbeing of your staff, promoting healthy wellbeing throughout your operation.  Could you look to do a comprehensive home worker risk assessment to those working from home?

4.  Talent opportunities

Do you have an internal progression plan that is accessible to all employees?

What career paths are there available to enable people to move throughout the company or up the ranks?

Looking at your staff retention can be helpful and thinking about what you can implement to ensure employee expectation is met from the start. Do you provide training and progression plans for aspiring employees? If not, this is something you could look to incorporate into your business to become an employer of choice.

5.  Communication with your employees

Communicate honestly with your employees, keep them involved and aware of what the business is doing, accomplishments, and plans for the future.

Encourage open and honest feedback and listen to that feedback.  You may not be able to implement or change it all but listening to your employees will always go along way and make employees feel valued and included.

What are you doing to inspire and motivate your staff?

Is there anything in place that recognises staff for hard work, going above and beyond or hitting targets?

6.  Benefits, Package, Perks & Incentives

What package and benefits are you offering your employees?

With more roles on the market available than prospective candidates, what are you offering that is different or competitive?

With increases to cost of living going up across the board, looking at what you offer can be a good start to becoming an employer of choice.

What perks do you have in place or employee benefits?

Are there any company incentives that would encourage positive hard work, or is there scope for you to implement something like that?