What drivers are most attractive to candidates?
Jasmine Flowers August 23, 2007
Recent results from a 2007 study by Towers Perrin shows that what attracts candidates to company’s differ across age groups and generations.
| Ages 18-29 | Ages 30-44 | Ages 45-54 | Age 55+ | |
| Competitive base pay | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Career advancement opportunities | 2 | 4 | 6 | 9 |
| Salary increases linked to individual performance |
3 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Competitive health care benefits | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Work/life balance | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Learning and development opportunities |
6 | 10 | – | – |
| Caliber of co-worker | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| Reputation of the organization as a good employer |
8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Challenging work | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Competitive retirement benefits | 10 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Organization’s financial health | – | – | 10 | 10 |
| Source: Towers Perrin | ||||
In yet another study of differences across age and generations this study shows that candidates in the 18-44 age range have the same top 5 drivers: Pay, Advancement, Salary Increases, Healthcare, and Work/Life Balance. Although, the drivers are ranked in different orders the fact that the same drivers are in the top 5 shows that candidates ages 18-44 do want similar things. The top 5 drivers for ages 45-55+ differ where those 45+ place a higher importance on competitive retirement and healthcare benefits and challenging work. Interestingly, all age groups ranked the reputation of the employer eighth on the importance scale and ranked competitive base pay either first or second on the importance scale.
So what does all of this mean? This data shows that although attraction drivers and overall retention factors differ across age groups and generations there are some drivers that appeal and are of equal importance across the board. By understanding these differences you can emphasize these drivers based on your candidate audience and do a better job of highlighting the factors that mean most to candidates.
Posted in Human Resources Analytics, Hodes QTrac, Employer Branding, HR Analytics, HR Consulting, Human Resources, Recruiting, Recruiting Consulting, Retention, Sourcing, Workforce Management
August 25th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Very nice founds. Another things is women and men probably look at it in slightly different ways. A mom with a small kid probably like to be in a company offering day care and such….
http://www.webcosmo.com
August 27th, 2007 at 6:57 am
Good point. Thanks for your comment.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:13 am
In Australia, we have been basing much of our employer branding work on the Corporate Leadership Council. Are you finding that research being used by clients in the US?
I just completed an online survey here showing validating the same trends with a few interesting insights…
Men clearly preferred career oppty and salary while women were pretty even ranking salary, benefits, career oppty and then work/life balance.
Gen Y ranked career oppty first then salary while Gen X ranked salary then career oppty…
Thanks for sharing.
September 10th, 2007 at 11:12 am
[…] second point really resonates with me, although a recent study reveals that most candidates (of all ages) rank a competitive base pay as the most important thing. […]