New year, new hiring challenges? Take a candidates-first approach

The hiring market in the U.S. is starting to slow down after many months of historically high activity as industry-specific layoffs take hold and federal interest rate hikes impact the overall economy. In September, there was an addition of 263,000 jobs and the unemployment rate decreased to a low of 3.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ September 2022 Employment Situation Summary. This marked a deceleration from August, when the jobs market saw the biggest gain since the early months of the pandemic.

Despite that deceleration——Fortune 100 companies largely remain in hiring mode, particularly in the tech space.

The hyper-competitive hiring market of the past year—which saw constant job switching during The Great Resignation and trends like “quiet quitting”—has taught hiring managers that to remain competitive enough to attract top talent, their organizations need to highlight benefits offerings, provide attractive growth opportunities, and offer built-in flexibility that’s largely become an expectation among candidates. These pillars are integral to attracting candidates and enhancing the overall employee experience to help with retention. They are an investment in an organization’s future.

Related: How employers are leveraging benefits to recruit and retain workers

To distinguish themselves among today’s candidates, organizations should take a candidate-first approach to recruitment—here’s how:

Highlight how you’re meeting candidates’ needs

Job seekers have a lot of options in today’s market and come with well-founded expectations around the work-life balance as they look for their next role. The pandemic has shifted candidate expectations in both dramatic and subtle ways, and they are seeking higher compensation, greater flexibility and autonomy, and more fulfillment from their jobs. Because of this, people are increasingly looking for opportunities at companies that value and prioritize employee well-being.

This shift is having a tangible impact on the hiring process; organizations are changing company policies to allow for a more flexible environment and reevaluating their approach to the recruiting process. Companies need to meet these shifting expectations, beginning at the interview stage. A flexible interview process, that can be done virtually, can reinforce the organization’s commitment to flexibility and accommodating employees’ needs. As my team at Liberty Mutual speaks with candidates, they’re leaning into messaging about how we can support each person’s individual needs—this way, each interview is unique, centered around the needs and goals of that specific candidate.

As candidates increasingly prioritize how they want to structure their professional lives to fit with their personal lives—typically by working remotely or on a hybrid schedule—they’re asking more about our approach to flexibility. Prior to the pandemic, we had established a remote work culture that prioritized the work-life balance. We offered, and continue to offer, flexibility with in-person, remote, and hybrid options, ensuring our focus is on creating an inclusive environment for all. Conveying this flexibility during the recruitment process is imperative: studies have shown that the work-life balance is a top priority to candidates—even above compensation and benefits.

Show how you’re supporting your workforce

Candidates want to know that there are growth opportunities in an organization. For that reason, we’re changing the way we talk about career paths and development for employees and what we highlight to attract top candidates.

We look for candidates with relevant skills, experience, knowledge, and willingness to grow and develop. We provide employees with a broad range of resources to empower them to acquire new or different skills needed to advance their career or transition into a new career path—to stay engaged, excited and fulfilled. We give our employees access to a wide variety of educational opportunities like LinkedIn Learning to make it easier to identify and build skills targeted to their development plan or interests. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs always resonate with candidates—we know younger generations in particular take a values-driven approach to their careers and want to work for purpose-driven companies. We want to show them that we care about the community and are taking action around DEI.

Even virtually, it’s important to showcase company culture in the recruitment process. We’ve built a supportive environment throughout our organization that remains committed to DEI and community giving, which comes across when working with candidates. We highlight programs like our employee resource groups, which include over 14,000 employees and provide ongoing networking, support and development for employees.

We also have an initiative to increase representation in leadership positions, ensuring that at least one woman and one person of color are interviewed for all open positions.

Invest in your people  

Beyond the hiring process, we solicit employee feedback to enhance our programs, and in turn, the overall employee experience so our people are supported professionally and personally. Through regular surveys, we gather real-time sentiment to stay on the pulse of what employees need and turn that into updates, like offering free access to Care.com, and extending mental health offerings to prioritize employee well-being at a time when burnout is at a high.

All of our efforts are fundamentally based on who we are as a company—one that’s committed to putting people first through ongoing flexibility, supportive benefits, meaningful connections, and creating pathways to long fulfilling careers. Investments in benefits and development programs will ultimately allow organizations to attract and retain top talent while creating a loyal workforce that feels proud to be part of the organization.

Shawn Tubman is Head of Talent Acquisition at Liberty Mutual.