Are You the Legal Guardian or the Fun Parent?

By: Chelsea Schmelz, PHR

If you’ve had a hand in recruitment over the past year and 10 months then you know that the labor market has changed in a way that we’ve never seen before.  You hear of small businesses having to shut down due to lack of staff, of employers who say they can’t find good people that want to work, and it doesn’t seem like there are enough candidates to go around for all of the openings companies now face. 
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Recently, we decided to try a different approach to recruitment.  Rather than just list out a traditional job description as a posting, we decided to try advertising the companies'’ culture and perks instead.  We wanted to let job seekers know not only that the company was hiring and what the job would entail, but also, what made that employer stand out from their competition. 

What we learned from this process is that companies are still giving the standard answer: ‘People should want to work for us because of our pay, benefits, and growth opportunities’.  While this answer may have worked in the past, this is no longer enough.  Legally, companies are required to pay people for their time, and provide affordable healthcare.  At this point they are meeting the bare minimum, or being the Legal Guardian.  Say for instance on one hand you have the parent that clothes, feeds, and shelters their child (The legal requirements), then on the other hand you have the parent that cooks their favorite meal on their birthday, writes notes in their packed lunch each day, goes to the movies with them, etc.  You’re going to pick the fun parent that makes you feel special.  Job Seekers want that same experience.
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As recruiters we should be showcasing all the awesome things that our companies do to make our employees feel special and want to come to work each day.  If that’s weekly cookouts or holiday parties, or swag then advertise that as a reason someone should want to work for your company.  There’s always going to be a company that pays better, offers better benefits, and has more growth opportunities than you do, but your culture will always be unique.