It’s not uncommon to find articles about what employers want and expect from candidates. But as 83% of recruiters agree, the job market is now candidate-driven.Candidates and employees provide the foundation of every company but are often the last ones asked for the opinions on important, company-wide decisions.

Candidates’ opinions are valuable, and educating yourself on what candidates need from the hiring process can help decrease your company’s turnover. And in case you don’t have the courage to ask them yourself, here are 4 things candidates wished you know. 

“Money isn’t the most important thing to me.”

Money is one of the most important parts of work, but it’s not always the most important part of a job. Millennials especially don’t want to work just any job anymore. They want to love their job far more than they want money. How much more? According to Brookings Institution, about $60,000 more: 64% of Millennials said they would rather make $40,000 a year at a job they love than $100,000 a year at a boring one. 

While we can’t speak for all of them, many Millennials (who are the largest generation in the workforce) are chasing happiness, satisfaction and engagement over money, and employers need to take notice if they want to attract them.

Solution: Hire the employee because they are passionate about the work they’ll be doing. Don’t just hire because you need to, hire because it will ultimately help your organization. Look into philanthropy programs, charitable giving, sustainability campaigns and benefits to supplement your straight compensation packages. 

“I don’t know how to work at your company...because I am new.”

Starting a new job is never fun. Having to learn a new art, a company’s policies and culture it -- can be extremely taxing. According to a recent study, 76% of employees want on-the-job training. Candidates want new hire training and continuous employee training throughout their entire career. 

Another study showed that 66% of employees want their companies to provide them with more training opportunities, 62% think this training helps them be more effective at their jobs and 76% say they expect companies to invest in their career development. So if you want better employees, you’re going to have to put more effort into building them after you hire them.

Solution: Try implementing training opportunities for your employees throughout the year: conferences, seminars, etc. Can’t afford to send your employees somewhere? Try putting together smaller workshops held by management or investing in an online training software. As a bonus, this may be a perk for candidates saying “yes!” to your job offer.

“I want a company that has a great culture.”

The word “culture” gets thrown around a lot these days. Most businesses won’t deny how important company culture is in the success of their employees. However, culture (or a lack thereof) could be the very thing causing candidates to disengage from work or worse, leave altogether. In 2014, 9% of employees left their job because of workplace culture.

Solution: Examine your current company culture, take a look around and see what could or needs to change. Try taking an anonymous survey of what your employees feel is wrong with the current culture. Making small changes here and there can improve the quality of the new hires you bring in later on and possibly increase employee happiness.

“I know when you’re lying…”

Everyone should appreciate honesty in all aspects of a position, workplace, and employee. However, a study found that approximately one-third of employees quit because they may have been deliberately misled during the interviewing process, and the job wasn’t what the listing described. 

Solution: While this may come as a no-brainer, be honest about the tasks and the expectations of the job. Lying or misleading a candidate is not worth the cost of a high turnover and the hit your reputation as an employer will take.

Candidates and employees want to be able to take a job offer with confidence, grow into their role properly, be happy and support themselves and their families. Remembering these 4 basic rules of thumb can help you increase employee happiness, build a strong culture and save you money from having to hire new employees every week.

Bio: Sean Pomeroy

While selling other companies software solutions, Sean worked with Michael Warden to design over a dozen applications for different organizations and industries over the years. Sean now focuses on the vision for the company, business development, and continues involvement in the software design of Cyber Recruiter, applicant tracking system and Cyber Train, learning management system. Want to see what Visibility Software has to offer? Take a demo now.

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