How to Attract Top Talent Without a Fancy Corporate Office

Attracting top talent has changed significantly in recent years. It used to be all about decked-out offices, snacks on demand, stocked beverage carts, and lots of company swag. But today, when 80% of company leaders plan to allow employees to work remotely at least part of the time post-pandemic, these tactics can feel quite dated. Today’s workforce is more diverse than ever with employees who strictly work onsite, workers who come in a couple of times a week, and those who never set foot in the office.

This hybrid workforce was a long time coming, and the pandemic certainly accelerated things. Many of the biggest names in tech (think Facebook and Twitter) are offering remote work permanently. Silicon Valley is facing a mass exodus of talent, heading out in search of more affordable living. This shift has introduced a new challenge for hiring: how do you attract talent when big names now have a larger pool to recruit from? In a world where video conferencing is standard and Zoom happy hours are already passé, what can you do to bring (and keep) the best and brightest on board?

What perks do employees want?

The pandemic put remote work to the stress test; some companies only had a matter of days to move their entire workforce online. There have been plenty of hurdles along the way, but overall, research shows that working from home (WFH) has been a measurable success. According to PwC, 83% of employers say the shift to remote work has been successful at their companies. Employees echo that sentiment as 65% of those currently working remotely want to WFH full-time post-pandemic, while 31% prefer a hybrid work environment.

As remote work becomes expected among job seekers, the traditional bells-and-whistles corporate office is becoming less of a meaningful job perk. Attracting talent is no longer about what you can bring to the office for employees. Instead, employees cite the following as the most desirable perks :

• Discounts and subscriptions
• Flexible working hours
• Recognition at work
• Unlimited PTO, or more vacation time in general
• At-home entertainment
• Remote work
• Time off for mental health

There’s a common theme to this list of benefits: the desire to make working remotely and staying home more comfortable. Many employees are putting in more hours and working more productively than ever before. They want employers to recognize these efforts and provide a means to bring some of the convenience of office life to their homes.

Create and promote a remote culture

Attracting top talent today requires accessible offices, WFH flexibility, and robust benefits packages. The first step to bringing in new hires is making information about your perks and remote culture prominent in every step of the candidate journey. It’s not just a matter of saying you allow remote work. Instead, you need to demonstrate that you have a remote-friendly culture and the means to support WFH employees.

One fantastic way to showcase the best of your remote culture and benefits is to create a separate WFH careers page. Highlight the roles and locations available for remote candidates. You can include video clips of remote employees sharing what they love about your company and how you make WFH life work for them. It’s important to share how you engage with in-office and remote employees. Remote employees want to feel connected with the onsite ongoings.

You’ll want to mention why remote work is important to your organization and how it connects with your company values. It may be a matter of letting your talent work where they work best. Or perhaps it’s all about the work-life balance. Whatever the reason is, make sure it’s displayed prominently on your careers page and throughout any recruitment collateral.

How does your company fit into your candidate’s life?

One of the most striking side effects of the massive shift to remote work is the erosion of traditional working hours. The average workday has increased by 48.5 minutes , and the number of meetings has risen by 13% since the start of the pandemic. Alongside work, many employees are also juggling homeschool and childcare responsibilities.

Employees want to understand how a job will fit into their life instead of making the job their life. In the orchestra of work-life harmony, employers play the role of conductor. What means does your office take to ensure workers don’t get burned out by blurred lines between work and life? Perhaps you encourage regular use of PTO, allow for an asynchronous schedule, establish no-meeting days or time periods, or implement wellness challenges.

This information should be readily available to candidates. Follow up your collateral, web copy, and recruitment campaigns with honest discussions about work-life balance in interviews. Give candidates a chance to ask questions about your remote culture and back them up with specific answers.

For many organizations, the shift to remote work came without much warning. Whether WFH is old hat for your company or relatively new, there’s plenty of room for effective collaboration across digital lines. Check out Vibe’s interactive digital whiteboard and innovative smart software to increase engagement and efficiency from anywhere.