Prioritising Growth: The Key to Attracting Talent

A recent survey we conducted with our candidates showed that 71% of them prioritised progression opportunities when looking for a new role. Essentially, they're not just after a job; they want a path for personal and professional development.

It is vital, when recruiting for new talent to showcase what your organisation does to encourage progression, this can come in many different forms and doesn’t always need to focus on climbing up the hierarchy straight away.

What’s the Reason for the Role: If you are recruiting due to an internal promotion or secondment, this is really important information for interviewing candidates to know. It allows them to see progression at work in real time and will really appeal to ambitious people.

Structured Career Paths: Within certain companies and industries it is crucial to have clear and structured paths of progression, If this is the case for the role you are recruiting, make sure you talk through this at interview stage so the candidate knows what is on offer.

The Path Less Travelled: Perhaps in your organisation, the path of progression is less structured, and past promotions or role changes have been more organic and based around the individuals talents and desires. This is really something to shout about, and will appeal massively to certain candidates to know that one size doesn’t always fit all.

Harnessing Internal Talent: When looking at filling short term needs due to changes in demands or maternity leave, for example, secondments can be a great way of allowing progression for existing employees. This will add to a culture of professional development being prioritised and will be a great selling point when talking to potential new hires.

Training and Upskilling: Not all roles have promotion opportunities and that’s ok. It is still important to talk about how the candidate will be trained and what other upskilling opportunities they will have presented to them during their time at the company. Shaping a culture where employees can seek out professional and personal development opportunities in a way that suits them will increase loyalty and retention as well at attracting fresh talent.

In conclusion, when looking to improve your team culture and how external candidates view your organisation, take a look at the current professional development of your team and where this can be improved. Training and upskilling is something that can be implemented fairly easily and the trickle-down effect can be substantial.