Hi folks
I was wondering if any of you had any experience of recruitment where there were incentives applied for candidates....'golden handcuffs', enhanced relocation packages and the like?
Had a failed recruitment campaign recently managed by an eternal agency (never ended up appointing at the end, final selection showed applicants to be less than what we had expected despite psychometrics and other challenges thrown in to whittle the list down and match our requirements) and Im wondering if there were something more that could be done in the process. I realise this is a tough one in this day and age where the war for talent is so tough but it appears that some skills pools may be stagnant and so Im open to ideas to grow it to attract more candidates from across the UK.
Any thoughts gratefully accepted.
Replies
Thanks Debbie, you hit the nail on the head there - feeling valued and useful is definitely one of those Maslow moments (I always chuckle seeing the spoof version with 'wi-fi' added to the hierarchy!). Simple things can so easily be forgotten in the race to retain.
Hi Jason,
My experience is quite similar to those already expressed below in terms of incentives. The scenario we had in particular was a very prestigious Head Chef was being sought by the hotel chain I worked for, and in order to encourage him to take up the opportunity, we offered relocation costs to be covered, one month bills to be paid for their home, temporary accommodation if required till there new home was ready, a salary that recognized their expertise and then the standard 'buddy' system that helped them settle in.
Don't know if that's of any use at all, but feedback from that person was that they felt encouraged to join a good company and felt 'special' which along with relocation costs proved to be what helped that person initially apply, and then accept the offer.
Debbie
Hello Jason
In the company where I worked, we would offer a relocation package which included removal (if they lived more than 50km from our base and moved within 50km limit), an installation grant which was paid in 2 parts (first part with 1st salary, and the 2nd part when they provided evidence that they had relocated - this had to be claimed within 2 years) and travel expenses. This can be expensive as Sarah said, but we used to have a provision in the contract, that stated if they left within 12 months, they would have to repay the installation grant. We also gave people a step increment when they passed their probation (at 6 months) and adopted the total reward approach where we would highlight all of the benefits such as pension, health insurance etc as we felt this made it a much more attractive package.
Hope this is helpful
Jane
Thanks Jane. they appear very sound and structured incentives, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
Great question. I think you are correct in the war for talent and some of the initiatives that I have utilised in the past include a golden hello i.e a cash lump sum on appointment typically 50% upfront and 50% on successful completion of prob period. We also had a very sophisticated relocation policy but this can be very expensive! We also adopted a total reward approach where we highlighted the total value of all elements of reward. Finally for more senior roles a Long Term Incentice Plan was considered attractive as a tool to recruit.
I hope this helps!
Sarah
Hi Sarah, some great thoughts to ponder on for sure and I appreciate the feedback. Even when these people are appointed and in the door I have found in the past that applicant may continue to pursue other opportunities to cover all their bases. Just when you thought it was safe (and the recruitment bills have been paid...).