Jobseekers, employers differ on importance of benefits

Employers are offering jobseekers a slew of attributes that they believe are of value. But unfortunately, they’re the attributes employees value the least, according to new research by staffing and HR service company Randstad US.

The survey asked more than 200,000 jobseekers to rank the attributes they value the most in employers and found that salary and employee benefits, long-term job stability and a pleasant work atmosphere topped the list. These attributes were then ranked on how well employers provided them, coming in fifth, sixth and eighth respectively.

Meanwhile, the attributes that employers scored highest on were financial health, strong management and good training, ones that jobseekers didn’t really value. But it’s often cheaper for employers to provide these than the increased salaries and benefits jobseekers have indicated they want.

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“Employers are realizing that if they want to attract and keep talent, they’re going to have to pay a competitive wage, one that is fair and hard to replicate,” says Jim Link, the chief human resources officer of Randstad North America.

Randstad also offered a number of ways that employers can close the attributes gap, like specifying an employee value proposition that looks at corporate culture and what motivates employees. Employers also should be transparent with jobseekers and current workers about employment benefits while also keeping in mind the different audiences and planning ahead to ensure that the wants and needs of both groups are being met, Link says. Planning can be more effective with insight leveraging talent analytics and predictive workforce intelligence.

Current employees can also be an invaluable tool into the minds of what attributes jobseekers want to see.

“An employer needs to conduct an employee engagement survey at least biannually,” Link says. “It can all be done online. Then, once you learn the results, you can see what’s on employees’ minds.”

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