28 Jan What Type of Office Attracts Top Talent?
What Type of Office Attracts Top Talent?
According to Forbes, the secret to attracting high-quality applicants is differentiating yourself from other industry players, and showing top talent how joining your company can help them reach their career goals.
Your company’s office is a concrete and tangible way to convey your corporate culture, influencing candidates’ impressions of your company and how talent-friendly you are, how invested you are in employees, and how progressive and tech-savvy you are.
Here are a few ways your office can give a good impression to the top talent you are looking to recruit:
Create a Destination Workspace that Enables Collaboration
According to Serraview, attracting top talent from this generation requires more than flexible hours and the ability to work from home. Employees also want more choices and more opportunities for collaboration within the office as well as out of the office. Rather than working at a fixed location, they want to move around as their job demands.
Workspace design is changing to reflect the choices employees want, with more companies moving toward Activity-Based Working (ABW). These are task-oriented spaces designed for different types of work activities, such as quiet areas for concentration, comfortable lounges for group collaboration, and “phone booths” for private phone conversations.
A key to attracting top talent is creating a workplace where both senior leaders and young workers want to be. That’s why so many companies are moving away from traditional offices with cubical farms and corner offices. The workplace of the future offers comfortable and engaging collaborative spaces, as well as amenities like gyms and recreational spaces.
Address Workforce Health and Wellbeing
Today’s top talent is drawn to companies that demonstrate a commitment to employees’ overall well-being. Here are a few key ways to demonstrate that your company is invested in the overall health and wellbeing of your employees:
Focus on staying active – A gym is always wonderful, but if that is not in the budget, consider active furniture such as sit-stand workstations and treadmill desks, which allows employees to work out while working, rather than having to build gym time into their schedule. Encourage movement as well, which can be anything from installing well-placed staircases, to centrally located printers and copiers that encourage getting up and moving around.
Focus on healthy eating options – Providing a variety of healthy food options is not only beneficial to your employees’ health but is an increasingly popular strategy for attracting top talent.
Focus on mood and well-being – Experts are increasingly touting good lighting (especially daylight) and low-noise environments as necessary for optimal productivity. Exposure to natural light reduces anxiety and stress and gives employees a much-needed Vitamin D boost.
Focus on mental health – Encourage employees to use mental health days, providing assistance or coverage for therapy or counseling services and encouraging employees to practice self-care.
Focus on rest – 29% of workers report falling asleep or becoming very sleepy at work. To combat this slow in productivity due to sleep deprivation, some forward-thinking companies have added nap rooms and sleep pods to their offices. If you allow employees to take a power nap, you’ll see a boost in energy, productivity, and creativity.
Focus on mindfulness – Nature gives us permission to be quiet, makes us aware of our thoughts and helps us become mindful of those around us. Create an open space outside for people to recharge or encourage employees to create their own nature reserve right in their workplace with a rock garden or with plants. Offer classes. Company-sponsored classes on mindfulness, meditation or yoga can be an excellent jumping off point.
Address Busy Lifestyles by Adding Amenities
Prof. Jeffrey Pfeffer, of Stanford University, studies workplaces extensively. He says “Perks and benefits are an indicator of whether or not the organization is building an employee-based culture. Start with good coffee. Either get the fancy coffee maker or at least invest in quality coffee beans. Ensuring that fresh food is available onsite is also important to employees.”
Employees are working longer hours as a result of increased workload and have less time to leave the office to get their errands done. It turns out the worthiest workplace luxuries are time-saving incentives. Claire Tompkins, a workplace productivity consultant says, “Today, time is more valuable than money,” So although a financial bonus is great, perks that save people time, like shuttle services, daycare and on-site dry cleaning, are actually worth more in terms of quality of life.
We can help! Contact us today if your company wants to attract top talent and you want to create an environment that will be more inviting and flexible.
Speak with one of our experts! Call us at: 800.427.5811 or email: info@rigroup-us.com.
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