Dolphin Group

The job market has been turned on its head post-COVID and companies have found themselves taking a good hard look at what they offer potential employees – from competitive pay, to more comprehensive benefits, and even thinking outside the box in terms of how they can make themselves a desirable company to work for. So where to begin for your company? What benefits would attract the demographic of employees you’re looking for in particular? We encourage you to take a deep dive into your company culture, understand the needs of your employees, and discuss plans for where you want to be in the future. To help you get started, below is an overview of what certain demographics are looking for from the places they work. 

First things first, take a look at your workforce demographic. Are you hiring more women than men? Especially more women of color? If yes, or if this is a workforce demographic you would like to attract but the numbers aren’t there yet, see what you can do to change your benefits to match their needs. Consider how you can instill benefits that can help manage work/life balance. The pandemic has shown us how critical it is to have your workplace lend support to your life outside of work; that was proven when during this pandemic 3 million women dropped out of the workforce to support their families (cbsnews.com). Some top benefits that support the caregivers of the family are below:

• A flexible work schedule - no longer adhering to a 40 hour work week or a strict 9-5 schedule.
• Stipends or steep discounts for all childcare costs.
• Emphasizing mental health and wellness practices in the office – including additional time off for mental health and/or personal days in particular.

These are the new benefits women, and especially women of color, are seeking because without intentional support from the workplace, women are choosing their families over their careers.

However, the pandemic didn’t just affect women, it also had a major effect on workers with fewer academic credentials or workers who just don’t have the particular skill set you may be seeking. If you are a labor-focused workplace, below are a few options on how you can expand your benefits to draw in this demographic:

• Grow and diversify talent pipelines that include support of underrepresented or economically vulnerable groups, such as workers economically impacted by COVID-19.
• Design curricula and training for the skill sets and experience employers need from new hires.
• Determine credentials based on attainment of skills instead of degrees.
• Engage with state and local workforce boards or employer-driven regional consortiums to improve the quality of publicly supported training pathways.
• Participate in sector-based initiatives that deliver learn-as-you-earn opportunities to draw in workers who would otherwise be excluded because of their financial circumstances.

The Minnesota Employment and Economic Development website (https://mn.gov/deed/) has excellent resources to help you discover ways to find new employees and create on-the-job training programs. Overall, focus on how you can help employees grow and develop themselves into a perfect match for your positions rather than seeking employees with a pre-defined skill set. 

Perhaps your company is looking for college graduates or those who have been in the workforce for a few years already. Currently, Millennials make up the largest percentage of the workforce at 35% (livecareer.com) and will continue to be the largest working group for years to come. If you want to attract employees with degrees and a few years of work experience under their belt, Millennials are your key target. So what do Millennials look for in a company? Visix.com lays out the top three most important work benefits for Millennials:

• 87% of Millennials say professional development or career growth opportunities are very important.
• 78% of Millennials see workplace quality as important when choosing an employer.
• 75% of Millennials would prefer to work from home or other locations where they feel they could be most productive.

Also, Millennials are of a new generation that aren’t afraid to company hop as a way to increase their pay and experience as 42% of Millennials expect to change jobs at least every 1-3 years (visix.com). So what’s the biggest takeaway from this generation? Give them the opportunity to grow within the organization, the flexibility to work when and where they want, and work together as a company to create an active and inspiring work culture that emphasizes quality of life alongside the quantity of work produced.

Regardless of the field of work, the majority of companies saw an impact to their workplace in 2020-2021 and are making changes to accommodate their employees in hopes of keeping retention high and attracting top candidates. In a new study conducted by the Harvard Business Review in the spring of 2021, almost all (98%) of the leaders they surveyed plan to newly offer or expand at least one employee benefit, prioritizing the ones workers deem most essential, like child and senior care benefits, flexibility around when and where work gets done, and expanded mental health support.

So how will you keep yourself competitive in this new market? What job benefits mentioned above would attract your key demographic? How will you keep up with the changing times so you don’t get left behind in this new, post-COVID world?