What Best Hires are Looking for and How to Deliver It

When the CEO makes a toast at the annual holiday party and gives that speech in which the employees are recognized as the company’s greatest resource, it’s not just a nice sentiment. Beyond the fact that employees are, of course, entirely necessary for any business’s operation, good employees are also responsible for any business’s continued success.

According to research, an exceptional team member who is a high performer is 400% more productive than the average performer. For employees in leadership roles in highly-complex or highly-specialized niche fields (such as managers, software developers, and other complex occupations), top talent was found to be 800% more productive. The burgeoning recognition of ROI like that from the best personnel is precisely what’s driving the surge in aggressive ecommerce recruitment. As superior talent is such an integral part of a business’s success, recruiting that talent is a top priority (or should be).

Work-Life Balance Is Good for Recruitment and the Bottom Line

There is an inherent assumption, borne from generations of deference to the 40-hour work week, that days off in general, paid time off (PTO), flexible hours, and the capacity to work remotely are precious commodities that a hiring manager and their hires are haggling over. The manager may try to hand out as little of it as they can while remaining attractive to great candidates, and those candidates negotiate for as much as they can get until a compromise is reached.

But that dynamic is no longer the standard norm. It’s hard to miss the evidence pouring in from around the world touting the benefits of practices such as a 4-day, 32-hour week (or less). Research has shown there is not only no detriment to productivity, but that workforces putting in fewer hours are actually more productive, per capita. Other, perhaps less extreme, measures, such as flexible hours so employees can work when they feel the most productive and the capacity to work remotely can also entice top talent.

Additionally, despite the stereotypes, there is no indication that today’s employees are all that intent on taking advantage of the time off they do have; just the opposite in fact. Particularly for the sort of superior talent that can truly, personally contribute to the success of a company, PTO, flex time, working remotely, and so on shouldn’t be considered productivity-endangering concessions. Dedicated, committed, talented candidates simply aren’t wired to compromise productivity by wiling away exorbitant chunks of vacation time on the golf course.

Trust and Detail

If you ask data science recruiters or anyone else in the recruitment industry specializing in high-level, technical, or specialized niche hiring, they’ll tell you it takes more than a generous-for-the-industry salary and decent benefits. The key to luring in the STAR candidate is appealing to the attributes responsible for making them a STAR. Those with superior talent are generally aware of their proficiency and value. So offering a flexible employment package with liberal PTO is both attractive on its own merits and a demonstration of trust in them and recognition of their value.

And while it’s a good policy in general, any upper-level position being offered should be accompanied by a considerable level of detail. Detail about the specific responsibilities and expectations of the position, but also details about the company offering it. That level of detail should tell a story about the business, its goals, priorities, philosophy, and future. It should be a narrative value proposition; a narrative in which the candidate can see themselves with a starring role.