Marcus Moufarrige writes that creating the right impression as an employer is critical to attract and retain talent.
Marcus Moufarrige writes that creating the right impression is critical to attract and retain talent.
In an increasingly competitive global market, it has never been so important for HR professionals and employers to create the right impression that sends out a message that they are a successful, professional company in order to attract and retain great talent.
Whether your business is just starting out or looking to grow, there are some important considerations that can make the difference between a potential candidate or employee choosing to join or stay with your organisation over a competitor.
Create the best impression:
It’s often said that it takes just seven seconds to judge a person; this also rings true for a business. Just as potential candidates would do well to dress appropriately for the interview, it’s important to present your business in the best light.
Choosing the right office space is key to making a great first impression. Is it city-central? How easy will it be for potential clients or candidates to access? How easy will it be for you to travel there? Does it look the part? Before signing on the dotted line ask yourself whether your chosen location will help take your brand to the next level.
If you’re unsure whether to take the plunge, a good option can be to test the water with an established serviced office that’s already set up and ready to go. A serviced office gives you access to high quality fit outs without getting tied into long-term leases or pay expensive up front purchase costs, also helping increase your brand’s agility and speed to market.
Choose the right environment:
Whether you’re a large global brand like Google or a smaller local start-up – the office environment can be a big decision factor for many employees when choosing where to work. Demonstrating that they’re your number one priority by creating a comfortable, well-appointed and fun work space can also help increase office motivation and productivity.
Being able to offer employees a workspace with spectacular views of the Harbour Bridge or city skyline for example provides a real wow factor and can help make them feel like they’ve already made it – even if the business is still on its way up. Having a professional infrastructure in place, including a full time receptionist and 24/7 technical support and online access, will reduce the amount of time your employees spend on office admin and free them up for more exciting business tasks and development.
Flexibility is key:
If you find yourself needing to scale up quickly and recruit new employees, having enough space for everyone - without blowing your budget - can be challenging.
Signing up to a serviced office with a flexible contract means you can quickly and easily secure additional office space in the same location. Similarly, while flexible working continues to be a hotly debated workforce issue, the fact remains that having the option to mix working from home with an office based set-up is a great incentive for many employees seeking a better work-life balance. At Servcorp, we’re seeing more and more clients take advantage of our business lounges to provide a more flexible ‘hotdesk’ option for employees. This allows teams to remain working side-by-side, but without the financial strain of having to provide desks when they’re not being used. ‘Hotdesking’ is also a great option for businesses that require employees to travel often. You can have someone using a desk in Wellington one week and LA the next, without having to support two full-time offices.
There’s no question that growing a business and attracting the right staff is a challenge, especially in today’s age of the mobile workforce. But with so many factors to consider and increasing levels of employee expectation, it’s important to think about the type of work your staff do, as well as the facilities your team and your business will need to expand. Being smart in how you decide to support your businesses growth – by creating the right environment to attract and retain great talent, and to help your team to prosper – could be the difference between success and failure.
About the author
Marcus Moufarrige is the chief operating officer at Servcorp. Visit: www.servcorp.com.au
