Earlier this year, we published our survey findings on what industrial employees look for in a new job. Our clients found it so insightful that we wondered whether there would be any differences if we were to survey our administrative and customer service sector candidates. We are happy to report our findings to you here!
WHICH JOB CHARACTERISTICS ARE ADMINISTRATIVE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE PROFESSIONALS PRIORITIZING IN THEIR NEXT CAREER OPPORTUNITY?
Positive work environment, scheduling, pay and benefits, and career advancement opportunities are all factors that attract and retain top talent in the administrative, call centre, and retail sectors according to our respondents.
Our survey asked candidates to tell us how important each of those factors were in their decision to accept a position. While there were some obvious crossovers when compared to their industrial employee counterparts, there were some other things that were quite surprising.
HOW DOES YOUR COMPANY COMPARE TO OTHERS IN THE MARKETPLACE TODAY?
Along with identifying the top five things that attract and retain employees, we also sought to uncover the things that really turn candidates off when considering moving to a different company. Here’s where things got interesting: candidates started to highlight the more intangible benefits they are looking for in an employer.
Things like the company’s reputation in the market came out right on top – really highlighting the point that companies need to safeguard their online reputations and publicly address unfavourable reviews or issues brought to light online in Google Reviews, GlassDoor reports, and so on.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN TOP ADMINISTRATIVE TALENT?
We were also able to uncover 5 no-cost to low-cost things that a company can address or implement that would have significant impacts on the way candidates prioritized a position over other offers. It’s easy to infer that the outcomes that these strategies produce would result in happier, more productive people, requiring fewer rehires, and a more skills-diverse workforce.
Our survey participants identified five game-changers: company characteristics that increased the “desirability” factor of a job offer from “average” to “awesome” in a nanosecond. While these cost more to implement (e.g. health/dental benefits, pension contribution plans), even incorporating one or two of the top “game changers” could be the difference between attracting and retaining your preferred candidates and watching them slip away to your competitors.
Find out more about the results of our administrative and customer service Candidate Survey by downloading our full report here.
