What is an employer of choice?

An employer of choice is a company known for delivering excellent applicant, candidate and employee experiences. These experiences help organizations stand out in their industry, making it easier to attract and retain talent.

Becoming an employer of choice has the following benefits:

• Sourcing and recruiting: People genuinely want to work for your company, making it easier to build a talent pipeline. You may also have to spend less time on sourcing and recruiting activities.
• Increased retention: When you deliver excellent experiences, employees want to stay with your company instead of seeking employment elsewhere. As a result, employers of choice often have higher retention rates. The higher your retention rate, the less you have to spend on hiring.

Tips for becoming an employer of choice

To improve the employee experience, consider the following tips.

1. Use cross-functional teams

Many organizations assign employees to departments based on their skills and job duties. Although this structure has some benefits, cross-functional teams can increase collaboration by avoiding silos that isolate department members from other employees, interfering with effective communication.

Consider using cross-functional teams rather than silos to enhance the employee experience. A cross-functional team brings people together from different areas of the organization, promoting collaboration and teamwork.

Cross-functional teams also have the following benefits, all of which can contribute to a better employee experience:

• Enhanced innovation
• Increased creativity
• Alignment of team goals with company goals
• Improved problem-solving capabilities
• Additional flexibility

2. Ask employees to participate in committees or focus groups

Employers of choice ask employees for their feedback and use it to make company-wide improvements. To gather feedback effectively, consider having your employees participate in workplace committees or focus groups.

A committee is a group of people selected to perform a specific task or investigate a specific topic. For example, members of a social committee are responsible for planning team-building activities and other social events. Offering committee assignments creates a positive work environment, which may help employees stay excited and motivated.

Focus groups have guided discussions on specific topics. For example, if you want feedback on your company’s compensation plan, you could ask several employees to participate in a focus group. During group sessions, a facilitator asks open-ended questions and listens carefully to employees’ responses.

A standardized process can ensure employees know how to submit their suggestions for improvement. It also makes it more likely that managers or HR staffers will act on each piece of feedback.

Related: 20 Employee Engagement Questions for Your Next Survey

3. Recognize employee contributions

Consider starting an employee recognition program if you don’t already have one established. It’s a good way to create a better experience by thanking team members for their work and recognizing their achievements.

Deliver personalized feedback. Something as simple as a handwritten note goes a long way toward motivating employees and getting them excited about your company.

Read more: Cultivating a Culture of Appreciation at Work

4. Provide development opportunities

If you want top talent to stay, consider providing development opportunities that allow employees to learn new skills and refine their existing skills, allowing them to advance within your organization.

For example, someone who starts out as a customer service representative may build the skills necessary to become a team lead and then a customer service manager.

5. Build trust with teams

Establishing trust with your employees involves supporting their needs and being as transparent as possible about your decisions. This type of treatment makes an organization more attractive to prospective employees, and it may also help improve retention rates.

6. Offer competitive compensation and benefits

There’s often a direct correlation between fair compensation and work satisfaction. When employees feel less stressed about financial concerns, they may be more likely to appreciate their role with your company.

7. Get involved in the community

Employers of choice often maintain a strong presence in their communities, making prospective employees aware of the work they do. If your organization doesn’t have any community initiatives, here are a few ways to get involved:

• Sponsor scholarships for local students.
• Encourage volunteerism for local nonprofit organizations or fundraising events.
• Donate to local nonprofits.
• Partner with other companies to do a giveaway or host a special event.

8. Make the application process as easy as possible

Many of these tips focus on retaining current employees, but it’s important to consider how applicants view your organization. If you have a complex application process that requires people to enter the same information in multiple places, a quality applicant may decide to look elsewhere.

Consider these tips to create a better applicant experience:

• Create clear job descriptions.
• Streamline the application process.
• Create a mobile-friendly application.
• Launch an interactive career website to help prospective employees understand what your company does.
• Offer video interviews to candidates who don’t live near your office.
• Communicate frequently with applicants.

9. Provide helpful tools

Having the right tools and software to do a job can help employees be more productive and engaged.

An employer of choice asks employees what they need and listens carefully to their answers. If you survey your employees, you may discover that they need ergonomic office furniture, updated software or a better way to process invoices.

You may not be able to follow through right away, but you should make every effort to fulfill these needs. If you can’t, be transparent about the reason.

10. Offer flexibility

Employers of choice usually offer excellent work-life balance, eliminating the need for employees to choose their jobs over their families, friends and hobbies. You may not be able to give everyone a 28-hour workweek or allow every employee to work from home, but you can make changes that make sense for your business.

For example, if an employee wants to go back to school to finish their degree, you may be able to work out a job-sharing arrangement or hire a part-time worker to take on some of their tasks. Consider offering remote work, flexible schedules and extra breaks to help employees relieve stress.