How Healthy Initiatives Can Help Attract the Right Job Candidates

Attracting candidates to your open job positions is becoming increasingly difficult for recruiters everywhere. Even with the addition of recruitment technology such as video interviewing software, the recruitment process is only a short time in the candidate’s career, so they’re much more interested in what happens after they’re hired—and, if your wellness program isn’t up to par, your candidates may choose to find somewhere else to work.

Recruiters know that retainment is just as important as recruiting. On average, employees only spend 4.2 years at a workplace, and that number gets even worse with younger generations. Workers between the ages of 25 and 34 will only spend about 2.8 years with one employer. This is a problem, because it forces recruiters to take time to constantly refill jobs instead of focusing on new positions to help the organization grow.

To make sure new hires stay with your company, you have to have an innovative wellness package. About 60 percent of job seekers consider what an organization has to offer for perks and benefits before accepting a job offer, with 80 percent of employees preferring additional benefits to a salary increase. This shows that a great benefit package doesn’t just keep employees around longer, but it can also attract qualified candidates to your open positions.

A great wellness package will help create an environment candidates want to work in. Your company needs to have unique wellness benefits that you can not only make part of your brand, but also use to attract job candidates.

What Can You Add to Your Company’s Wellness Package?

The first place to start when it comes to a wellness package is good medical and dental insurance, a retirement fund, and life insurance. Anything additional to those items should have the goal of framing your company’s wellness brand, increasing the quality of life for employees, and attracting new workers.

With so many options out there, it may be hard trying to figure out which options are the best. You should start by asking current employees what they would like to see added to their wellness package. The most popular responses are the ones you should look into right away. When it’s possible for your organization to try something new, it would be useful to investigate things your staff haven’t tried before.

To give you some examples of wellness benefits to test out, here are some out-of-the box ideas that will help differentiate your wellness package from your competition, and attract more candidates:

1. Bring In Local Businesses or Health Organizations.

You probably have many employees who would like to experience an activity or learn something new, but just don’t have the time outside of work to do it. By bringing in local businesses, such as a massage therapist or a yoga instructor, your staff won’t just get a wellness break, but they’ll also get an opportunity to try something new, or do an activity they enjoy but don’t have time for in their personal life.

You can also bring in local or national health organizations to speak with your staff about what they do, and how the public can help out. Events like this help encourage a stronger work/life balance, which many job seekers are now looking for.

2. Replace Pizza Parties with a Stocked Pantry.

It’s always a good idea to show your employees you appreciate them, and many companies choose to do this by paying for lunch every once in a while. An office pizza party can bring your staff together and allow them to get to know each other in a social context, but there are other, healthier options than just pizza.

One thing you can do instead of ordering food for a one-time lunch is to make sure your kitchen is stocked with a variety of items year round. Having access to fresh fruits and veggies, quick meals, and other food items will help make sure your staff stays happy, and always has healthy food options to make sure they stay productive.

If you miss the social aspect of the pizza party, you can always bring in a cooking class chef every once in a while, to teach your staff something new they can try with food. Or, you can bring in a couple hot plates, and make a meal as a team.

3. Offer More Than Just a Gym Membership.

With many health insurance programs, employees are able to get a discount on certain gym memberships. While this is a great initiative and shows employees you value their physical health, the gym isn’t the right workout environment for everyone.

The easy fix to this is allowing employees to select alternative exercise opportunities, such as kickboxing, rock climbing, tai chi, or a pool membership. This variety will encourage more of your employees to take advantage of local physical activity opportunities, and will also appeal to job applicants by showing you want to help support whichever type of exercise routine they prefer.

4. Allow Flexible Hours and Remote Opportunities.

The age of unwavering work hours is starting to come to an end, with organizations opting to provide flexible hours and remote opportunities for employees. Many places are still sticking with the standard nine-to-five at the office, for all employees with no exceptions, though. Permitting flexible work hours and locations could be in your employee’s best interest, and is an easy thing to add to your wellness package.

By offering flexible hours, your staff will be able to make their work schedule fit in their life. They won’t need to take time off for a doctor’s appointment, for example, or be forced to leave unpaid if an emergency comes up. If you are worried some employees may take advantage of this, and constantly arrive late or leave early without making up the time, you can set up an automated check-in system to keep track of what hours your employees are working.

Work-from-home options can also be beneficial to many of your employees, and will help you recruit candidates from out of town, as well. Offering remote opportunities means you’ll be able to hire the best person for the job, no matter where they’re located in the world. You’ll also give more flexibility for employees who travel, or who have young children at home.

5. Provide Ergonomic Work Equipment.

One thing that’s becoming clearer with more people using computers for work than ever before is how poor sitting is for your health. There’s no preventing people from working desk jobs, but making sure your equipment is ergonomic will reduce the number of health issues your staff experiences by sitting all day.

The best place to start when investing in ergonomic equipment is chairs. Remember that your staff are going to be sitting in these seats for up to eight hours each day, if not more. Having a chair that supports good posture and prevents pain is extremely important for office employees. Some staff may also need wrist rests for their keyboard and mouse, to ensure good circulation.

If it’s in your budget, you should also look into getting your staff desks which can transform into standing desks. This will give your employees a break from the chair, and can help keep them healthy. If an employee has certain physical limitations as well, you can set up a process where they can request the equipment they need to be able to be comfortable at work.

6. Get Involved with the Community.

The final suggestion I have for you is related to social heath. Many job candidates want to work for good corporate citizens, and give back to their community whenever possible. There are lots of different ways to do this. Your company can select a certain charity and host an annual fundraiser with staff to support it, participate in community clean-up days, or organize a team for a fundraising event.

Participating and organizing activities which give back to the community will help your job applicants feel proud of the organization, and will be more likely to stick around for the long term.

In Short...

A wide-ranging wellness package won’t just encourage your employees to stay rather than look for another job, it will also attract job seekers to you. Being known as a company that treats their employees well and has many benefits is never a bad thing, and you’ll find more people will want to come work for you as a result.

Once you’ve decided on what you want to include in your wellness package, get your marketing team involved. They’ll be able to help you come up with branding opportunities, and advertise these benefits to make sure they reach as many candidates as possible.

Author Profile:

Tamara Gravelle is a Senior Content Writer and Competitive Research Analyst at VidCruiter. She specializes in writing about video interviewing software, HR technology, and the greater human resources industry. She tweets at @VidCruiter