By Stacy Pursell, CPC/CERS
The VET Recruiter®
In today’s competitive hiring environment—especially in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession—organizations must stand out from the competition. That’s because if you don’t stand out, then you reduce the chances that you’ll be able to recruit top talent and the best candidates in the marketplace. And right now, hiring the best candidates is more critical than ever.
Being an employer of choice is closely related to an organization’s employer brand. Just like a personal brand, an employer brand is the experience that an organization provides for a job candidate or an employee. The more positive your employer brand, the more likely that your organization will be considered an employer of choice within the marketplace.
But what are some of the things that brand your organization as an employer of choice? When you’re considered an employer of choice, it means:
- You have an extraordinary work environment
- Job seekers and candidates want to work for your organization, or at the very least, you’re on their short list of employers.
- Your best employees want to stay with you, even when they’re being courted by other employers.
And this is just the short list. We’ll explore what makes an organization a true employer of choice a bit later. Now, though, I’d like to address the benefits that are involved with being considered an employer of choice, and there are many. The top benefits include the following:
- Hiring the top candidates in the marketplace is easier.
- Retaining your best employees is also easier.
- When employees do leave you, for whatever reason, it will be easier to promote from within instead of hiring from without.
- You have an advantage over your competition, including when it comes to recruiting and hiring top talent.
- You’ll experience increased productivity and profitability across the board.
Considering the current conditions that exist in the marketplace, being considered an employer of choice is almost like attaining the “gold standard.” It’s difficult to attract top talent and the best candidates, but if those candidates already know who you are and already want to work for your organization, then that can make your hiring efforts much easier.
Straight from the mouths of candidates . . .
Now, though, we must address the other end of the spectrum, summed up succinctly in the title of this article: the top reasons why an Animal Health organization or Veterinary practice is NOT considered to be an employer of choice. How do I know these reasons? Because I speak with top professionals daily and they have told me these reasons. So, I’m getting it “straight from the horse’s mouth,” so to speak.
Below is a list of the top reasons that candidates have given to me for why an organization is not an employer of choice, at least in their minds:
- Reputation in the marketplace
- Compensation and/or benefits are not competitive
- Unorganized; don’t have any systems
- The way they were treated during the hiring process
- No electronic medical records in a Veterinary practice
- Lack of mentorship opportunities
- Lack of continuing education/chance to learn new skills
In other words, these are the reasons that top candidates gave to me as to why they no longer wanted to continue pursuing a new job with a certain employer. And for some of them, they gave one or more of these as a reason not to pursue a job with a certain employer at all. (“Reputation in the marketplace” would be one of these reasons.)
This is essentially a list of things that you want to avoid as an Animal Health or Veterinary employer. Specifically, you want to avoid a situation in which a top candidate gives one of these as a reason not to pursue an employment opportunity with your organization.
12 characteristics of an employer of choice
So back to what makes an organization a true employer of choice. Specifically, I’d like to expound upon what constitutes an “extraordinary work environment,” because when you get right down to it, that’s the type of environment that provides the best experience and brands your organization in the most positive way. When it comes to having an extraordinary work environment, the key to achieving such an environment lies in what you give, not what you get, specifically what you give your current employees. Because when you give employees what they want, they will become your biggest advocates and your best means of advertising your Animal Health organization or Veterinary practice.
According to the BalanceCareers.com, there are 12 common characteristics of an employer of choice, and they all revolve around what these companies give to their employees. They include:
1. Competitive salary and benefits offering
2. Compelling mission statement and/or vision
3. Job security
4. Empowerment and authority
5. Access to information
6. Commitment
7. Involvement
8. Positive relationships with co-workers
9. Work-life balance
10. Performance culture
11. Fairness
12. Recognition
Think for a moment how your organization stacks up in these 12 areas. In which areas do you excel and in which do you think you fall short? These areas are the standard by which a potential employer of choice is measured, and in this current hiring environment, you need every edge and advantage that you can get.
Partnering with an experienced Animal Health recruiter or Veterinary recruiter is another way to gain an advantage in the marketplace and in terms of hiring top talent and the best candidates available. As this article illustrates, recruiters know what top candidates want in a new employer and what they think it means to be an employer of choice. Based on their conversations with these candidates, recruiters also know what would motivate them to first consider a new employment opportunity and then explore that opportunity, if it makes sense to do so.
It takes work and effort to become an employer of choice . . . and it’s easy to not be one. So strive to take the “road less traveled” and do whatever is necessary to position yourself as one of the best Animal Health companies or Veterinary practices in the marketplace!
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We help support careers in one of two ways: 1. By helping Animal Health and Veterinary professionals to find the right opportunity when the time is right, and 2. By helping to recruit top talent for the critical needs of Animal Health and Veterinary organizations. If this is something that you would like to explore further, please send an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com.