Money Talks in Every Aspect of Recruiting

Include Salary Information in Postings

Influencing candidates to apply for your job starts with addressing their biggest question mark. 98% of job seekers and employees say it is helpful to see salary ranges in job listings. Candidates experience a more positive search, and employers see a direct correlation with successful recruiting. According to Glassdoor:

• “Providing pay information at the beginning of the recruiting and inter view process helps candidates self-select out, reducing the number of resumes needed to get to hire in half.” (What Are Salary Estimates in Job Listings? April 2019)
• “Hiring decision-makers report when they hire informed candidates (about salary realities) they see better retention rates and more productive and more engaged employees.” (Glassdoor Survey, August 2017)

Repeated Topic of Interview Conversation

Time kills all deals, but as we venture deeper into low unemployment waters, I believe our shtick should change. Money kills all deals.

I can’t tell you how disruptive compensation is to the offer process. There’s tremendous value in discussing compensation with a candidate during every interview. If you approach the topic strategically, it will not be overkill. Here are reasons you should never miss an opportunity to talk about compensation:

1. Achieve 100% perfection with your offer.
2. Candidates don’t know when and how to bring it up. Take the lead. Open the door for them.
3. Discover in real-time changes to compensation expectations.
4. Find where priorities lie between salary, bonus, commissions, benefits, expenses, etc.
5. Being proactive means you have authority to be reactive when the counteroffer hits.

Acknowledge and Retain Key Employees

Staffing forces us to focus on new things, but what’s the point of taking dirt from one hole just to fill another? Recruiting is an ongoing issue. You constantly have to re-recruit your own employees.

Mercer’s 2018/2019 U.S. Compensation Planning Survey said, “Companies risk losing employees to competitors that may offer better salaries and the opportunity for more career growth.” The survey found 78% of employees list Retention Concerns as their top factor that influences compensation decisions. This is higher than other categories like sourcing new talent and adding bench strength.

To prevent employees from becoming job seekers due to frustration with compensation, here are some tips to leverage compensation and increase retention.

• With Account Managers, focus on pay equity. While merit percentages are on the rise (3%+ according to SHRM 2019) people can get more in the open market. Organize, prioritize and incentivize client service managers based on book size, vertical/niche portfolio and segmentation of roles (marketing, client-facing responsibilities, etc.)
• Producers will gladly discuss new and renewal splits. In fact, they do in peer groups, so you want them talking with you. Invite salespeople into learning about ROI and expense management. Even newbies on a validation schedule should learn how formulas work. If not a yearly discussion, let life stages be the kick for you to discuss comp with your sales team. Producers change employers for better comp plans when they marry, have children, buy a house, pay for college and are within 15 years of retirement.

Topics Talent