Companies risk failing to recruit top talent because of the gap between what employers believe potential staff want and what employees are actually looking for.
Research commissioned by Croner found that while 65.1% of employers think company reputation is the most attractive attribute for potential staff, only 22% of employees feel that this is important, placing it sixth on their wish list of things that attract them to a company.
The two main things potential employees look for, according to the survey, are†holiday entitlement (43%) and location of work (47%). More than a third (39%) listed flexible working and bonuses as being equally key in attracting them to an employer.
Of the 150†employers asked, 54.4% also said they thought the workplace culture and environment would be an attraction to potential recruits, but just 38% of the employees said this was a big pull factor. Staff development initiatives, such as training and promotion, were also thought to attract job hunters by 52% of employers, while 28% of employees agreed.
Gillian Dowling, technical consultant at Croner, said: "Today’s employees aren’t solely motivated by money and are looking for other perks and conditions to help them balance their work and home life. Although little can be done about location, home working can be a powerful benefit to employees, as can offering other flexible solutions such as later start times or job sharing.
"Employers may have to be more inventive about the benefits they offer. And, with changes to statutory holiday entitlement expected to come in from this October onwards, even the option of being able to offer extra holidays as an enticement will have less appeal to job candidates in a competitive market."