We’ve been focusing on retention recently as the present job market has forced this issue. One point to note is that retention topics show up during the offer stage of hiring new salespeople. The items the candidate values are often the ones in which they engage the hiring company.
Forbes.com’s How To Keep Your Employees Happy offers this:
Interestingly, throwing money at staffers isn’t always the answer. Neither is throwing a party every few months. Having fun at work and creating a cohesive team is just one element. The most successful companies also realize flexibility, values, career development and providing meaningful experiences are also important elements to minimizing turnover. The interesting thing is that many of the companies that value having a good time usually incorporate those other elements too.
Flexibility has risen to a highly-valued asset – an asset that enters into most offer negotiations nowadays. Flexibility is the needed component for reaching a desired work-life balance.
We recently had to virtually rewrite one of our customer’s offers due to a lack of definition regarding flexibility (vacation, telecommuting, etc.). This factor was part of an undefined offer that cost us a strong candidate. Companies with flexibility in their culture have a marketable advantage in this tight labor market.
The next step is to advertise the culture of the company. Use those events as a way to recruit talent. “The best thing to do if you’re a company is make it clear what you have to offer,” says Erickson. That way, when a candidate receives two job offers, and everything else is equal, they might go to the company that has a culture similar to theirs.
Hiring strong salespeople often comes down to a slight advantage.