Category: SEO

A lot of small businesses are hesitant to offer lots of employee benefits because… well they can get pretty expensive. But the fact is that, if you want to attract the top talent, you need to offer them something more than just abasic salary, especially if you’re working in a particularly competitive field.

The trouble is, it can be difficult to work out which employee benefits are worth it both in terms of attracting talent and for your bottom line. Here are a few benefits that fit the bill:

Flexible Working

Allowing your employees to take more control of their working hours is a huge draw and often, you’ll find that employees who are free to choose their working hours at least some of the time are more productive as a result. If you’re hesitant, check out this flexible working advice for employers and maybe have a read of this very encouraging article. Flexible working is here to stay and offering it could benefit you and your employees in several very real ways, which is why you should strongly consider it.

Emergency Fund Access

Most of us experience a financial emergency once in a while, so enabling your employees to access part of their salary ahead of payday on those occasions when they really need it is a great benefit, especially because it can be implemented for free. The goodwill you rack up as a result of being so flexible will likely result in higher staff happiness and loyalty levels.

Health Insurance

If you can afford it, offering your employees health insurance cover is a great way to attract and retain them. Even in countries where healthcare is free at the point of delivery, private medical insurance is highly valuable, so employees are unlikely to leave a company that offers it so easily. Not only that, but fast access to doctors and specialists will help to keep your employees healthier in general, which should result in fewer sick days overall.

Educational Sponsorship

Paying for your employees to gain further experience and qualifications can be expensive, but if you’re serious about growing your business, you’re going to need highly skilled people working for you, so why not find them by sponsoring current employees rather than recruiting from outside? If you do this, you will show your employees that they are valued which in turn will lead to greater levels of satisfaction and more loyal employees. It’s far cheaper to retain staff than it is to recruit them new, so it is definitely something to consider.

Gym Memberships

Paying for employees’ gym memberships, or subsidising the cost of using a local gym, might seem like a benefit you can avoid implementing, and it certainly isn’t strictly necessary, but think about it: how much do those sick days cost you? How many hours are lost to sluggish employees who aren’t as healthy as they could be? Why not pay for them to get healthier and see sick days fall and productivity levels soar? It’ll certainly be better for your business in the long-term.

Benefits are important. Work out which ones will work for your company and put together a comprehensive package to attract and retain the best staff now and in the future.

As a small or new business, your staff plays a crucial part in your success. They are a big part of your business, whether your team is tiny, or a little bigger. They are the people that communicate with customers and clients, that do the day to day tasks and that offer customer service. Good staff will go the extra mile, both for you and your business. They are loyal and keen to learn new skills. But, attracting the best staff to a small business can be hard, and while some young and inexperienced team members are eager and enthusiastic, having some more skilled talent on board can be a good idea. 

So, how do you attract them when you can’t afford to pay as much or offer the same financial perks as other businesses? What can you do to improve your recruitment process and bring better staff in? Let’s take a look.

Use an Online Recruiter

Most people today start their job search online. But, using a basic online job finder can mean that millions of the wrong people see your advert. You’ll undoubtedly get plenty of applications, but not necessarily for the people that you want to hire. Using a more niche online recruitment service, such as a medical recruitment site, can both simplify the process and make it more effective. 

Offer Clear Job Descriptions

Many people make the mistake of using vague job descriptions, in the hope of getting more applicants. But the best staff won’t apply. They know what they are looking for. They want to see clear, easy to understand job descriptions so that they know if their application is worth their time. 

Take the time to highlight the perks of working for you clearly. They may not be financial, so think of other values that you can offer, such as a chance to learn and develop as part of a growing business, and any progression and training that you might be able to offer. 

Build a Reputation as an Excellent Employer

The best staff can afford to be picky. They certainly won’t want to work for bad employers that treat their staff poorly. Become known as an excellent employer that offers their staff equality, chances to develop and grow, fair treatment and pay, and a happy workplace, and you will start to attract skilled and loyal staff. 

Don’t Underestimate Face to Face Communication

So much of our recruitment today is done online. In many ways, this is easier, but you shouldn’t underestimate the value of face to face communication. Attend job fairs and networking events. Invite people in for a chat about the jobs that you can offer. Spend time talking to people in real life.

Become a Kinder Business

The best employees aren’t just looking for ways to help themselves. They want to help the wider community and even the planet. Become a kind business. One that gets involved in community events, that raises money for charity, and that has clear, environmentally friendly policies, and people will be eager to work for you. 

Keep an Open Mind
The best staff don’t necessarily look like the best staff. They might not even be the best on paper. Keep an open mind with recruitment, and don’t be scared to take a chance when your instincts tell you to.

Analytics are invaluable in business. As it stands, the information we’re able to collate has a five-year growth trajectory of around 13.2%, with the last five years alone seeing business collecting approximately 90% of the world’s data. 

One key analytics priority that online companies especially are focusing on right now is that of geographical interest. The more areas you reach, the better chances your profit margins stand, after all. For this reason, many website dashboards offer a world-map view of precisely where sales are coming from. 

In an ideal world, that map should be filled with orders from every corner. Often, though, companies find that interest comes predominantly from a few key countries, with others either offering a trickle of interest or none at all. 

This can be a problem, but there’s no reason to let those analytics halt progress. Your ability to spot and understand this issue alone could see you drastically expanding your business reach. All you need to do is make a list of the countries you’re failing to appeal to right now, and implement the following to turn things around.

Research culture

Cultural differences are often the leading setback to broad appeal. After all, a product that’s easily marketable to American audiences may struggle to stand apart in Asia. By researching  cultural differences in each of your target areas, you’ll be able to adjust your brand image for each territory based on norms, expectations, and national priorities. While this may mean slightly more work from a marketing perspective, it’s an effort you can bet will pay for itself when interest does start to grow.

Offer translation

Some web browsers offer basic website translation, but you can’t count on this to reach your broader audience for you. After all, services like these are basic, impersonal, and often way off the mark. Investing in your own translation services and offering different web pages for key nationalities can work a lot better. The moment you seek translation professionals with help from tips like these provided by Architekst, you’ll be able to address the need for slang, cultural references, and a generally conversational tone to increase appeal. What’s more, you’ll be able to avoid the off-putting mistakes that after often an inevitable part of more standard translation software.

Consider shipping processes

In some cases, lacking interest may be to do with little more than expensive or complicated shipping. With companies like Amazon sending products around the world with ease, customers are no longer willing to pay above the odds for worldwide shipping. If your rates are currently higher than market averages, looking into private courier services or even localised warehouses could be all it takes to break into new markets at last. 

No company can appeal to every country, but most business owners have an overseas trajectory that they’d like their products to follow. If your analytics map reveals that you’re miles off that right now, then you may just find that these points send your brand soaring at last.