Why culture is so important in securing top FRIC talent?

So, how does a prospective candidate assess a company's culture? The impression they get from your management team during the interview process will be key, but they will also look at the following:

• working arrangements
• employee engagement and retention policies
• level of pension contribution
• long term incentive programmes.

Working Arrangement

Like most of us, your ideal talent will have demands on their time outside of work and likely be embracing the 2hr commute to circumvent the cost of living here in Dublin.

Flexihours and the ability to work remotely a day or two is as important as the compensation package.

As the cost of renting or buying in Dublin has increased exponentially in the last few years, more and more of our workforce are now commuting from Kildare, Wicklow, Meath and even further. With an average daily round commute of two hours, flexible working hours and the ability to work from home at least one day per week becomes very attractive and in some cases, absolutely necessary.

Candidates who have flexible arrangements in their current role, will not consider a move to a new role that offers less flexibility.

If your company doesn’t currently offer flexible working arrangements, then it is going to become increasingly difficult to secure the best talent as many new entrants and a large percentage of existing multinationals now offer flexible working arrangements so it’s becoming increasing the norm. Most importantly, offering flexiworking arrangements is deemed to be progressive.

Pension & Long Term Incentives

Other factors that are increasingly important are pension provision and long-term incentive programmes.

As the national conversation around our State pension provision has intensified, we are all more aware of the need to have a sufficient private pension for our retirement. A key factor in building up a sufficient pension pot, is having an employer that contributes to that fund. A company that contributes a high percentage of salary to an employee’s pension is deemed to be an employer that wants to invest in their employees.

Likewise, with Long Term Incentive Programmes (LTIs). These are schemes that usually consist of cash bonuses or share awards that reward long service. For anyone who is currently eligible for such a scheme with their existing employer, this will be a key consideration in deciding whether to make a move.

Whether it’s flexible working arrangements, pension contributions or LTIs, candidates are more focused on a prospective employer’s appetite to invest in them and reward service.

These are key considerations for any HR team in developing an employee engagement strategy and are key to securing the best talent in today’s competitive market.