Employer of Choice: What is it and How to Become One?

From the highly educated researcher to the experienced marketer and the charismatic salesperson to the motivated intern, every company wants the best and brightest when hiring for a role. 

But these top candidates won’t consider just any company. To get their attention, it’s necessary to be a top employer. Don’t fret if you’re not (yet) a top employer. 

Courtesy of findings from the Top Employer Institute, this Pacific Prime article explains the qualities of a good employer so that you get a better understanding of how to be a top employer.

1. The Future of Work is Highly Personalized

Since last year, there has been a notable inclination towards an unprecedented degree of personalization in the way individual employees are treated by their employer. The prominence of individual employee needs is expected to continue to grow, leading to a shift from a “people-centric” to a more “person-centric” approach.

The customization of employee requirements has posed a significant challenge for organizations, leading to a current expectation among employees to be regarded as “internal” customers. 

Only businesses that can demonstrate a sincere dedication to their employees in this manner will elicit the essential emotional response required to foster a high-performance culture. 

• According to the Top Employers Institute, 91% of top employers consistently embed purpose-led decision making. 

2. Employees are the “North Star” for Better Decision-making

The purpose of an organization should be inspiring, as it not only explains its existence but also its role in the broader world. Additionally, the effectiveness of a purpose with a wider positive influence is contingent upon its origin in the hearts of all employees and its consistent reflection in their daily choices.

Leading employers are currently dedicated to creating a long-lasting and beneficial influence that extends beyond the confines of their organization, based on their purpose. This means always keeping the people who work for you in mind in your everyday decision-making. 

• According to the Top Employers Institute, 88% of the top employers include organizational purpose as part of their employee value proposition (EVP). 

3. Good Leaders will Listen to the Heartbeat in their Organization

Leaders will acquire new strategic competencies, specifically the ability to attentively gauge the organization’s vital signs. This means simultaneously keeping an eye on their work environment, proactively looking for ways to improve it. 

Furthermore, it is strongly recommended that leaders prioritize the act of actively listening to their subordinates, regardless of their hierarchical position, as a means to secure the emotional dedication of their team members in the face of potential disruptive obstacles. 

• According to the Top Employers Institute, 81% of the top employers have integrated purpose into their HR decision-making and practices. 

4. Pushing Employees to Take Ownership of Their Own Performance Management

Gone are the days of the formal annual performance review. Top employers today prefer monthly conversations between managers and employees, focusing on both performance and career development. 

While performance management is traditionally a top-down approach, 76% of top employers now try to ensure their employees take charge of scheduling regular ‘check-ins’, up from 67%

The minutes of these meetings are not always logged in the system, which lightens the bureaucracy and maintains agility. What’s more, the feedback process is becoming more responsive to team dynamics. 

In other words, employees are not only getting feedback from managers but also from peers and customers. 62% of top employers have a platform to support peer-to-peer recognition.

Note: In fact, continuous feedback is particularly appreciated by Gen Z and Gen Y (millennial) employees. 

5. Using Digital Platforms to Facilitate Social Learning and Develop Organizational Knowledge

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a digital workplace strategy. To facilitate employees’ growth and development, it’s no wonder that digital platforms and e-learning have been on the rise. 

Top employers take this a step further by encouraging teams to learn from each other and exchange knowledge via social networks. 75% of top employers have online communities for learning and 65% have communities of practice to support social forms of learning.

Further reading: How to develop and train soft skills in the workplace

6. Being There for Employees as Human Beings and Safeguarding Their Physical and Mental Well-being

Given the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a health crisis and subsequent economic uncertainties manifested in the form of inflation, unaffordability, and a higher cost of living, employees continue to exhibit significant fear over their job security and overall welfare.

For top employers, the focus is also on being caring. 92% of top employers believe wellbeing is a strategic imperative for their business, up from 83%. 

The most innovative of the employers perceive wellbeing as being multidimensional, encompassing factors like:

• Physical
• Emotional
• Social
• Financial
• And more.

Increasingly, employers are also perceiving wellbeing through a preventative lens. By allocating a percentage of their total HR budget to programs related to health and wellbeing, employers find there to be a positive impact on the general health, lifestyle, and behavior of employees. 

The bottom line is that productivity and the image of the company rise, while absenteeism, stress, and burnout fall. Some topics covered in these wellbeing programs are:

• Fitness
• Nutrition
• Mindfulness
• Financial management
• And more.

Design, Implement, and Optimize Your Employee Benefits Offerings with Pacific Prime Today!

One easy way to safeguard employees’ wellbeing is via employee benefits. The provision of employee benefits serves to ensure the sustained viability of a company by enhancing its ability to attract and retain talent, while simultaneously mitigating the costs associated with recruitment. 

As a global health insurance brokerage and employee benefits specialist, Pacific Prime has over two decades of experience helping corporations of all sizes and industries design, implement, and optimize their group health insurance plans using a tailored, technology-driven approach.

To learn more about the world of employee benefits and our employee benefits offerings, you’re more than welcome to arrange a free consultation!