4 Workplace Must-Haves for Recruiting Top Talent

Building up your workforce in 2017? You know you’ll need some stellar employee perks in place to attract the best and the brightest. A competitive salary, medical benefits, retirement plans and an engaging culture are only the basics and a given in today’s recruiting landscape. 

But the talent you and your competitors want are seeking much more than the standard compensation package. Are your recruiters aware of the more unexpected perks that are impacting your talent acquisition efforts? Here are four additional factors that high-quality talent are seeking in employers, and the things your company may consider offering in order to attract them.

1. Innovation

Millennials, who make up more than one-third of the workforce today, value innovation over anything else when it comes to choosing an employer. According to Deloitte’s millennial survey, 78 percent of millennials believe innovation is essential for business growth, yet only 52 percent of them feel their current work environment supports innovation.

These findings speak to the idea that innovation within your company has a significant impact on how millennials view working for you. They want to work for companies that are committed to providing opportunities for employees to innovate through top workplace technology and collaborative spaces.

2. Transparency

The American Psychological Association reports that 25 percent of American employees don’t trust their employer. Being a transparent company means being upfront about company performance, providing feedback and creating an open environment for input and communication. More and more employers, like HubSpot and Buffer, are touting transparency as a pillar of their company cultures in order to attract top talent.

3. Flexibility

Flexibility is one of the top factors when evaluating a potential employer, 82 percent of people say. The need for flexibility can be attributed to the desire for better work-life balance, flexible work hours or the flexibility to work from any location. This factor, again, is particularly important to millennials who value the ability to choose when and where they work.

4. Workplace Design

The look, feel and setup of your workplace also has an impact on potential candidates’ perceptions of you as an employer. Decor, comfort and ambiance allow you to showcase your company culture, but how physical workspaces are set up is also essential to attracting candidates who value flexibility and innovation.

Just as candidates value flexible work arrangements, they also prefer flexible work environments — such as open seating and collaboration areas. These types of openly designed areas are essential to encourage communication and onsite collaboration, which has also impacts productivity and innovation.

Once you’ve incorporated these factors into your perks and compensation package, make sure you’re promoting and communicating about them in your job descriptions, online career site and other outbound communications to attract top talent to your company.

Editor’s Note: This post was previously published on Inc.com and has been republished here with permission.