What is an Employer of Choice and How to Become One
Standing out in a crowded talent market is tough. Use these strategies to build an employer brand that attracts top talent.
Our 2023 Benepass Benefits Benchmarking Guide reveals insights on top pre-tax and perks programs, average stipend contributions, and benefits design so you can design more competitive benefits.
Get the guideStanding out in a crowded talent market is tough. Use these strategies to build an employer brand that attracts top talent.
Your reputation as an employer is make or break for your company. If you’re constantly losing great talent to competitors, your company can’t grow or meet organizational goals. And this is a probable scenario—Glassdoor reveals that 92% of people might change jobs if a company with a top corporate reputation offered them a new role.
So, how can you position yourself as an attractive prospect to job seekers and hang on to your existing talent? This blog discusses how companies can become an employer of choice by offering a positive employee experience.
An employer of choice is a company that job seekers want to work for. Boasting an excellent reputation, it attracts both active and passive candidates. These highly sought-after organizations offer a positive work environment, excellent leadership, fair pay, engaged employees, and meaningful work.
Andrea Hoffer, Founder and CEO of aha! Talent Experts, describes the importance of being a top employer.
“Imagine a world where talent flocks to your door, not just for what you do but for who you are. This is the power of a strong employer brand—a beacon that attracts the brightest, driven by your reputation as an exceptional place to work. Investing in employer branding is no longer a luxury; it’s an imperative strategy in today’s fiercely competitive job market. It’s about crafting an identity that speaks not just to your customers but to potential team members. It’s about being an employer of choice, where the best talents aspire to be.”
While there’s no boilerplate for becoming an employer of choice, some common characteristics appear across the board. These include:
Transparency is crucial for building trust with employees. Companies that share information about the company’s goals, strategies, and performance foster a sense of trust and collaboration among their staff, reducing stress and creating happier, more productive employees.
Unfortunately, trust in leadership has waned since the pandemic, and only 23% of U.S. employees strongly agree that they trust their specific organization’s leaders. Employers of choice turn this situation around by offering strong communication, directing positive change, and inspiring confidence. When this happens, 95% of workers fully trust their leaders, according to Gallup.
Your approach to pay is critical to whether current or future employees trust you as an employer. Studies reveal that 55.15% of women don’t believe they’re paid fairly in their current role, while 1 in 20 employees would quit if they discovered they earned less than their coworkers.
With New York City, California, and many other cities and states adopting pay transparency laws, now may be a good time to revisit your compensation strategy and job posting templates. Survey research from Indeed found that 75% of respondents are more likely to apply for a role if the salary range is listed. Even if your city or state doesn’t yet require it, proactive pay transparency is one way to breed trust in candidates and employees and demonstrate an employee-first philosophy.
Career development benefits elevate your employer brand by showing you care about your workers’ careers. All employees should be able to progress throughout your org chart from an entry-level position to a C-suite executive if that’s their goal. Employers of choice define clear career paths using role competencies and development frameworks to clearly define how an employee gets from A to B.
Conference Board research highlights that growth opportunities are a dealbreaker for 58% of employees who would likely leave an employer if they don’t offer professional development. But employers can go the extra mile by providing personal enrichment programs, which have plenty of benefits, too. Research has shown that participating in an art-related activity can reduce cortisol levels, providing an instant feeling of calm. Similarly, engaging in creative work causes us to use different brain parts, leading to previously untapped problem-solving and thinking skills.
Recognizing your employees for their hard work has a powerful impact. Employees who believe they will be recognized are 2.7x more likely to be highly engaged, according to Quantum Workplace research. Employees engaged at work are more productive and deliver better work, making recognition programs a true win-win for companies.
Recognition can be as simple as saying “thank you” to employees for their daily contributions to the company but can also include a myriad of other structured ideas such as “Employee of the Month” awards, peer recognition programs, internal shoutouts, and posts on social media.
Just as your employees develop, your organization can also progress and upskill as an employer to attract more quality job applicants and retain highly skilled workers. Here are a few strategies that leading companies implement to become an employer of choice:
Pay is a hot topic this year. My Perfect Resume revealed that 69% of U.S. workers agree or strongly agree that more people will quit their jobs if they don’t consider their salaries rewarding. Similarly, 68% believe employers must pay more to retain workers.
Employers of choice have no choice but to offer competitive salary and benefits packages to employees by doing the following:
Some employers such as nonprofits or startups may be unable to offer a salary within the highest pay range in the market. And that’s understandable. But other characteristics can still make them an employer of choice, such as increased flexibility and a great company culture.
Beyond offering a competitive salary, a rich selection of benefits is one of the best ways to establish yourself as an employer of choice and differentiate yourself from the competition. Here are some enticing benefits and perks to offer:
Health insurance benefits encompass a wide range of services and coverage options designed to safeguard the physical and mental well-being of employees. These usually include:
Individual employees thrive in different work environments, depending on their personalities, life situations, and physical or mental health conditions. While in-office work was the norm until the pandemic, many employers now offer increasing flexibility such as:
One-size-fits-all benefits plans don’t offer the customization employees need to maximize their benefits. Employee perks and stipends overcome this by serving up flexibility in the form of lifestyle spending accounts. In this model, employers add funds to each employee’s LSA account each month, which they can use in some of the following ways:
Looking for more ideas of what to offer your employees? Here’s a list of 13 Unique Employee Benefits to Attract and Retain Top Talent to inspire ideas for creative programs. Consider adding these to your LSA to empower employees to spend their funds in the ways that make the most sense for them and their families.
Employee development benefits allow your workers to gain new skills and knowledge to advance their careers. This approach shows you value them for what they can do today and their future potential. Some common examples of professional development benefits include:
Leading organizations value inclusivity and diversity by encouraging employees to voice their concerns and opinions, then acting on their valuable feedback. When all employees feel welcomed, appreciated, and valued, they’re more likely to enjoy their work and be happier and more productive. Follow these ideas to become more inclusive:
Developing your employees isn’t a one-time exercise. Designing a continuous learning environment that provides everything your employees need to grow requires commitment and customization. Follow these eight steps to create your program:
As the name implies, a rewards and recognition program incorporates two aspects: delivering the message of praise or acknowledgment and rewarding positive behavior with various incentives. While you may opt for monetary rewards like spot bonuses, these can lose their magic if some employees put the extra money toward bills, household needs, or debt repayment.
Instead, a pre-loaded card like Benepass inspires employees to spend the funds on something they might not normally buy with their own money. They can purchase anything they like, with flexibility as a core element of the program.
Whatever your approach, follow these eight simple steps to design a rewards and recognition program that resonates with your workforce:
Employers of choice value their employees’ professional and personal lives and prove this in every interaction they have with them. This type of people-first company culture will long reap the rewards of a loyal and productive workforce.
Benepass offers a wide range of perks and benefits to skyrocket your employer brand, including:
Ready to become an employer of choice? Book a Benepass demo to build your comprehensive employee benefits package or reach us at sales@getbenepass.com with any questions.