Becoming the ‘Workplace of Choice” for people looking to enter the workforce, re-enter the workforce or change jobs is a major challenge. A few employers have received local, provincial and even national recognition as great places to work. These ‘Workplace of Choice’ employers usually have a steady supply of unsolicited applications for employment and they get to pick the employees they want from a large pool.
Other employers have developed the opposite reputation. They have become places to avoid. Nobody wants to work there or if they do end up working there by accident, they leave as soon as possible.
Indicators of performance in getting People to join your company..
How do you know you are having trouble getting people to join your company? Consider the following quantitative indicators..
- THE NUMBER OF VACANT POSITIONS RELATIVE TO THE TOTAL WORKFORCE
- THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF TIME THAT A POSITION HAS REMAINED VACANT
- THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT OFFERS MADE IN ORDER TO GAIN ONE ACCEPTANCE
- THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS PER VACANT JOB
You might also consider expansion plans that are put on hold because you fear that you cannot find workers to fill key positions, contracts that you do not bid on for fear of winning and then being unable to deliver, new products or services that you hold back because you won’t be able deliver if they succeed.
ASSESSMENT TOOL
‘Did we make an impression’ An assessment tool to gather impressions of your company’s recruitment and selection process
This tool is a questionnaire that can be sent to people who have turned down an offer of employment.
To take a look at a version of this questionnaire in Adobe click here. This version can also be used as an interview guide.
ON-LINE VERSION You can also have persons who turned down employment offers complete this questionnaire on-line. To see what the on-line questionnaire looks like, click on this link. To make arrangements to use the on-line version, e-mail Al Holmes at Sequus. 
Assessing specific issues…
1. STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
Sometimes a company has such a compelling and inspiring vision that people want to join and be part of it. Take a look at the company mission, vision, core values, strategic priorities and strategic plan. If there is no written record of this, what is in the CEO’s mind. Can it be captured and communicated.
Ask current staff what they think the company mission, vision, core values, strategic priorities are. If they don’t know, its highly unlikely that potential employees will.
2.FRONTLINE MANAGEMENT
Check to see if frontline management is involved in staffing. If so, what image do they project? If not, why not?
3.WORKPLACE CULTURE
Culture is something that visitors and potential employees feel when they are outside of a company. Walk through the organization. Talk to people as an outsider would. Is the culture inviting or not?
4.WORK-LIFE BALANCE
What efforts are being made to ensure that employees can balance work and non-work successfully? What programs exist? Are they communicated to potential employees?
5.COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
What is the level of pay and what are the benefits being offered to prospective employees? Is it below, equal to or above that of competitors?
6.JOB/WORK DESIGN & STRUCTURE
How is work organized and structured? Are jobs interesting and challenging? Is there a steep hierarchy or is it flat? Are people organized into teams? If so, are the teams involved in hiring? How much of this is communicated to prospective employees?
7.LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
How committed is the organization to providing a continuous learning environment? What is the average annual training expenditure per employee?
8.WORKPLACE DIVERSITY
Is the company committed to reaching out to a broad range of people in its recruitment efforts? Are the recruiters representative of the workforce? What is the ethnic, gender, age, ability face of the organization presented to potential employees?
