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Make the Mental Health of Employees Central to Your Recruitment Strategy

Work stress is no joke, and it’s on the minds of today’s job seekers. In fact, 1 in 3 candidates stated in Monster’s State of the Candidate survey that their jobs were having a negative impact on their mental health and wellness. Understanding these stressors and supporting the mental health of employees will go a long way toward hiring the right people and preventing burnout.

Candidates revealed that the source of their mental and emotional distress at work most often was the result of:

A heavy workload (32 percent).
Not making enough money to cover bills and pay off debts (28 percent).
Having a toxic boss or coworkers (24 percent).

What’s more, among the top factors that drove candidates to seek different jobs (besides salary) were:

Better benefits (21 percent).
Job dissatisfaction (20 percent).
Improved flexibility and lifestyle (20 percent).

Each of those non-monetary factors revolve around quality of life. Together, they illustrate that candidates are interested in more than just compensation when it comes to evaluating job opportunities. For recruiters, addressing the quality of life and mental health of employees can be a huge differentiator. We turned to some experts to learn more about promoting mental health and wellness benefits to prospective candidates.

First, Understand the Candidates

We don’t have the same 9-to-5 job boundaries that we used to, according to Darcy Gruttadaro, Director of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Center for Workplace Mental Health. Since people are checking their work messages in the evening and on weekends, there are few limits to how long people are working, she says. In addition, the rise of big data means workers are being held to higher standards as they are being measured on nearly everything.

In short, Gruttadaro says, people are exhausted and under constant pressure to perform at the same time.

Throw in a toxic work environment and you can understand why some employees dread going to work every day. That’s when more serious consequences can occur. Case in point:

41 percent of candidates surveyed said they have experienced anxiety.
24 percent have experienced depression.
12 percent have experienced physical illness as a result of their job.

In other words, candidates are saying loud and clear that they want and need more support from their jobs to better cope with mental health issues. So how is your company doing that?

Promote Wellness Programs to Candidates

There’s so much recruiters need to pitch when connecting with candidates, that programs related to workplace wellness and the mental health of employees might not seem like a top priority. However, Monster’s survey indicates that it’s something candidates care deeply about. Whether it’s in your job postings, on employer career pages or social profiles, or during communications with candidates, a mention of your company’s wellness efforts can say a lot about the culture.

Share Stories, Not Features

Advertising yoga rooms and pool tables in the workplace is fine, but these are only features, says Eric Johnson, Executive Director of Graduate Career Services Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. However, it’s important to think about telling the company’s story through the lens of the employees. Ideally, says Johnson, this story should illustrate how they feel empowered, how their company supports them, and what makes them happy in general.

For example, hearing from a leader who talks about being an engaged parent and that work doesn’t give them any issues during soccer season when they have to leave early twice a week to coach their kid’s teams can be a powerful story.

Lead By Example

It might feel taboo to say “we know work is stressful,” but companies have to acknowledge that reality, says Johnson. Having messaging that shows you not only understand that high performers put themselves in stressful situations, but that also encourages employees to ask for help and provides tools and resources is key. You want to convey a culture that cares about the mental health of employees, without judgment.

Johnson recalls the positive reaction among students who heard a senior leader giving a presentation on campus share a personal story about how therapy helped him be a better employee and leader. Testimonials like that can make a candidate feel confident that they will be supported.

Discuss Policies That Promote a Healthy Workplace

Stories are great, but candidates may also want details about what programs are in place should a situation arise. For example, you might touch on what your return to work policy is for people who go out on leave, or share which EAPs are available on site. For example, offering technology or apps that people can use to practice mediation and mindfulness will show an employer’s support for employees, says Gruttadaro.

How Commitments to the Mental Health of Employees Can Help You Attract Talent

For senior-level recruitment executives who have the ears of the C-suite, pushing for more mental health and wellness support can help your overall recruitment efforts, as well as the company’s bottom line. According to the American Institute of Stress, job stress costs U.S. industry upwards of $300 billion a year in absenteeism; turnover; diminished productivity; and medical, legal, and insurance costs.

If your organization is behind the times, here are some things to advocate for:

On-Site Help

Johnson says employees often don’t know who to ask for help and don’t know where to begin, which is supported by the Monster survey. About one-quarter of workers said they haven’t sought help out of fear of being judged or simply not knowing where to turn for help. That’s why Johnson says having an on-site human whose role includes being there for these very situations, supporting the mental health of employees, is vital.

Even if you’re a smaller firm and you want to designate someone from HR to take on this role, just knowing that someone is available in a confidential way to recommend resources can go a long way. Many smaller companies can also bring in local partners to assist, notes Johnson.

Ongoing Education

Gruttadaro points out that stigma remains a significant barrier to mental health. Thefore, it’s important for the organization to raise awareness and make mental health visible on an ongoing basis. Gruttadaro says employers should ask themselves the following questions:

Do they have a newsletter addressing these issues?
How often is an employer sharing info with employees?
Do they have a centralized place to communicate to employees about mental health?

Giving the information throughout the year and talking about it at town hall meetings, webinars, and health fairs shows that mental health and wellness is a priority.

A Culture of Wellness

Incorporating some simple changes into the workspace that are wellness-focused can help create a more relaxing environment. For example, providing healthy snacks, playing relaxing music, and encouraging staff to stand, stretch and take breaks during the day can help. Also, making investments in good lighting, plants, and flexible workspaces can give the office a more inviting feeling.

All in all, candidates are looking to improve not only their salaries, but their employee experience. Sharing the ways in which your organization cares about and supports their health and well-being, and making it an integral part of your recruitment strategy, could be the very thing that convinces them to choose to come work with you.

Boost Your Recruitment Strategy With Expert Insights

As you can see, recruiting, hiring, and ultimately retaining the best and brightest requires a comprehensive approach that includes showing the organization’s support for the mental health of employees. There’s always more you can do to boost recruitment, so stay connected with Monster for the latest in free expert insights to develop a healthy and productive workforce.

Crisis Management for Team Leaders

Unfortunately, there are several types of crises you may face as a business owner or manager from natural disasters to cash flow problems. When you’re weathering a crisis, it’s essential to have skilled and motivated employees who can strengthen your business. To do that, you need to know the crisis management strategies that will help you increase employee morale and retention during a difficult time.

When you’re going through a crisis, you probably don’t want to spend time researching how to manage during a crisis. We’ve got you covered. Here’s what you need to know.

Types of Crisis

The most common types of crisis you may face as a business owner are:

Natural disasters: floods, fires, hurricanes, tornados, etc.
Technical crises: data breach, website outage, ransomware attack, stolen source code, power outages, etc.
Business crises: layoffs, reorganization, lawsuits, damaged reputation, supply chain issues, lack of funding, declining revenue, product recall, employee strike, etc.
Violent crises: robbery, looting, shooting, bomb threat, etc.
Health crises: workplace injuries, heart attacks, public health emergencies, hazardous material spills

Top Crisis Management Strategies

The tactics you use to handle each crisis will differ. You’d respond to a data breach differently than a natural disaster that requires you to evacuate the office for a set time, for example. However, the core crisis management tenants are the same. These tips will help you lead your team through whatever crisis you’re facing:

1. Create a Plan

Your first step is to work with your executive team to create a plan for handling the crisis. If there is a natural disaster or public health emergency, your plan may be to have employees work from home until they’re able to return to the office. In that case, you may need to make sure your team members have the necessary technology to work from home and create guidelines for working remotely. If revenue is low, the plan might be to implement measures to reduce costs and, if necessary, to lay off or furlough employees.

2. Share Your Plan

Your next step is to tell the entire team about the crisis and your plan. If possible, brief the team in person or on video chat instead of sending an email because it feels more personal. Leave time for team members to ask questions and get clarifications. Be as open as possible so people don’t speculate and share inaccurate information.

If there is an emergency, such as a fire or violent attack, consider using an emergency notification system so your employees get text message and email notifications instantly. It’s helpful to run employee trainings so your team knows how to respond to crises such as fires, violent attacks, and workplace injuries.

Keep your team updated as the crisis unfolds. If the plan changes, notify your team as soon as possible. This essential crisis management technique will make your team feel reassured because they know they will stay informed.

3. Provide Resources

Depending on the crisis, different resources may be helpful such as:

Counseling: If your insurance plan offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), remind your team members that the resource is available. If you don’t have an EAP, consider bringing in on-site counselors for a short time.
Personal days: If you don’t already, you may want to offer personal days in addition to sick and vacation days. Personal days can be used for doctor’s appointments, caregiving, family emergencies, and other reasons someone might have to take off work last minute. If it makes sense given the crisis, consider offering additional personal days.
Outplacement services: If you need to lay off employees, consider offering outplacement services so your former employees can get help landing a new job.

4. Be Compassionate

Compassion goes a long way during a crisis. In addition to providing resources, it’s helpful to:

Show appreciation: Celebrate individual, departmental, and team accomplishments.
Host one-on-one meetings: If they aren’t already, ask managers to conduct one-on-one meetings with their direct reports to offer individualized support.
Flexible work policies: Depending on the crisis, it can be beneficial to promote work-life balance by offering flextime, remote work, a compressed work week, backup childcare, and other flexible work policies.
Get employee feedback: Find out if there are more crisis management suggestions by asking your employees for feedback on how you’re handling the crisis. They may share feedback that you can act on to increase retention.

Implement More Management Best Practices

These crisis management strategies will help you increase employee morale and engagement during a difficult time, making it easier for you to weather a crisis. Learn more ways to strengthen your business by acting on expert hiring and management advice from Monster.

7 Tips to Reduce Turnover

It’s not enough to have an excellent business strategy-you need to have the right employees in place to execute it successfully. It’s essential to recruit skilled employees and reduce turnover, or the amount of people who leave your company during a set time frame.

If you have a high turnover rate, it’s time to ramp up your retention efforts beyond simply offering a competitive compensation package. Decrease turnover by instituting these policies and initiatives:

Provide flexible work policies
Improve manager-employee relationships
Prioritize professional development
Implement employee feedback
Foster team building
Strengthen your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts
Create employee recognition initiatives

1. Provide Flexible Work Policies

One of the main reasons employees quit is that they’ve found a company that offers more-flexible work policies. Reduce turnover by instituting some, or all, these policies:

Flex schedule. Instead of working the typical nine-to-five schedule, employees could set their own hours.
Remote work. Depending on the remote work policy you choose, employees can work outside the office all, or part, of the time.
Job sharing. Two or more employees would work part-time to fulfill the responsibilities of one role.
Compressed workweek. Employees could choose to work more than eight hours a day to complete a 40-hour workweek in less than five days. (Typically, employees would work 10-hour workdays four days a week.)

2. Improve Manager-Employee Relationships

Employees who have a good working relationship with their manager are less likely to quit. There are multiple ways you can help managers develop their leadership skills and build stronger relationships with their direct reports, including:

One-on-one meetings. Require managers to have weekly or biweekly one-on-one meetings with each of their direct reports. These check-in meetings are a good time to discuss projects and feedback and establish a good rapport, ultimately helping to reduce turnover.
New manager trainings. Develop new manager trainings to help managers develop essential skills, such as communication, motivation, delegation, conflict resolution, goal setting, and interviewing skills.
Clear expectations. Mitigate potential mistakes and miscommunications by asking managers to provide clear instructions, responsibilities, goals, and objectives at the start of every project.

3. Prioritize Professional Development

Ambitious employees want to continue to learn and grow at a company and will quit if they feel stagnant. Establish some of these professional development initiatives to reduce turnover and keep top talent:

Orientation and onboarding program. Welcome new employees and give them the support and training they need to be successful by creating a strong orientation and onboarding program.
Training program. Help employees attain and strengthen the hard and soft skills necessary to be promoted by offering training programs. If you can afford it, give your team members a professional development stipend that they can use toward classes, certification programs, and conferences.
Career development plans. Create a career development plan for each employee that outlines what they need to achieve to earn a promotion and raise. Increase employee morale and retention by having a clear and equitable promotion process.
Performance reviews. Instead of giving comprehensive feedback once a year, ask managers to conduct quarterly performance reviews so employees know what they’re doing well and what could be improved. Employees can use this time to set quarterly goals and objectives, ask for additional support and resources, give feedback, and discuss concerns.

4. Implement Employee Feedback

You don’t need to guess what would increase job satisfaction and reduce employee turnover-you can ask. Deploy these strategies to gather feedback:

Stay interviews. Conduct stay interviews to find out what your employees like about their role and working at your company and what can be improved. While exit interviews can help you make the position and culture better for new hires, stay interviews give you the opportunity to make the changes that are likely to keep your employees from handing in their two weeks’ notice.
Employee engagement surveys. Send quarterly, anonymous employee engagement surveys’ to find out how engaged your employees are and what you can do to improve job satisfaction, employee morale and engagement, workplace policies, and your company culture. Use the feedback to make improvements that are sure to drive retention.

5. Foster Team Building

People want to enjoy their work and working with their coworkers. These initiatives, many of which can be done in-person or virtually, will help you build a collaborative company culture and reduce turnover:

Team events. Schedule game nights, cooking classes, lunches, field trips, and other events that help people bond on a more personal level.
All-hands meetings. Host quarterly team meetings to discuss goals, objectives, and priorities for the quarter and accomplishments and setbacks from the previous quarter. Employees are likely to be more committed to the company’s success if they understand the business strategy and how their team is making an impact. Ask your department heads to host quarterly departmental meetings with a similar meeting agenda.
Extracurricular groups. Help employees from different departments and seniority levels connect by encouraging team members to set up fun extracurriculars like book clubs, sports teams, and volunteer groups.
Mentorship program. Create a formal mentorship program so every employee can find a mentor. Pair employees from different seniority levels and highlight that both sides will benefit from the relationship.

6. Strengthen Your DEI Efforts

Reduce turnover by strengthening your commitment to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. You’re likely to see increased morale, engagement, productivity, and performance. There are a variety of ways you can improve your DEI efforts, including:

Employee resource groups (ERGs). These employee-led groups help people build a community, feel included, and gain support. Some of the most common ERGs focus on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and parental status.
Diversity and inclusion trainings. Ask your HR department to set up trainings on topics like unconscious and implicit bias, harassment, allyship, and fostering inclusivity.
Inclusive hiring practices. Increase diversity at all levels of your organization by incorporating inclusive hiring practices, such as writing inclusive job descriptions, using blind applications, and standardizing your hiring process.

7. Create Employee Recognition Initiatives

Increase retention by making sure employees feel appreciated. Of course, the best way to reward employees is to provide promotions and raises, but here are some other ways to show your appreciation:

Equity compensation. Employees are likely to be more engaged if they have a stake in your business. Incentivize people to stay by requiring people to be at the company when their stock options or grants vest.
Bonuses. Show your gratitude by offering performance, profit-sharing, retention, signing, and referral bonuses.
Employee appreciation initiatives. Celebrate work anniversaries and team and individual accomplishments with bonuses or perks like a team lunch, an extra day off, company swag, or a simple shout-out at a team meeting. Foster a collaborative culture by encouraging employees to share positive feedback with each other.

Continue to Strengthen Your Company Culture and Reduce Turnover

These policies and initiatives will help you decrease your turnover rate. As an added benefit, the changes will help you recruit skilled employees. Double down on your recruitment and retention efforts by implementing more expert-recommended hiring and management advice from Monster.

How to Attract Candidates to Your Company

It’s essential to know how to attract candidates to your company so you can hire the people you need for your business to be successful. Fortunately, there are ways you can market your company throughout every stage of the hiring process so you can win over top talent. Monster spoke to career advice experts to find out their best advice for marketing your company.

Adopt a Marketer’s Mindset

“To win the hearts and minds of the individuals you want to hire, businesses have to invest more in the marketing side of recruiting,” says Kevin Grossman, president and board member at Talent Board. “You have to nurture your pipeline of recruits, just like marketers have to do when they’re selling a product.”

Jeff Smith, a partner at global marketing firm Prophet, agrees. “The role of a marketer is to attract and retain customers. The role of a recruiter is to attract and retain talent, so the objectives are strikingly similar. But marketing shifts the focus to the job seeker: What does the job seeker want? What makes potential hires tick?”

By adopting a marketer’s mindset, how you recruit talent can also improve your company’s reputation and visibility in the job market. The first question to ask yourself is, “How do job seekers perceive our organization?”

Brand Your Business as a Company With a Conscience

Today’s job seekers are looking to work at companies that give back to the community, says Julie Friedman Steele, board chair and CEO at World Future Society, a membership group for researchers who study changes across various industries.

In fact, data from Monster’s post-apply job survey of nearly 400,000 applicants ranked company values as one of the top six reasons that they applied to a job. And research has shown that company-wide philanthropy also has a positive impact on current employees.

How do you market a job to this type of audience? Use your company’s website, marketing materials, and social media accounts to promote your organization’s philanthropic projects. However, remember to be authentic about it. “Job seekers today are adept at assessing what your company’s values are and they can see through false marketing if you’re not actually doing philanthropy,” says Steele.

Promote Your Company’s Training and Development Opportunities

A growing number of workers want opportunities to gain new skills, says Parminder Jassal, head of the Learn + Work Futures Group at the Institute for the Future. In fact, according to Monster’s State of the Recruiter Survey , 41% of Gen Z candidates say growth opportunities are most important to them when assessing a company’s culture during their job search. Another survey found that the number one factor millennials consider when starting a new job is adequate training. Thus, to attract candidates to your company, “your company has to offer options that combine work and learning,” Jassal says.

As you learn how to market a job and connect with prospective job candidates — whether through job fairs, social media, or conferences — talk about what employee training and career development opportunities your company offers, such as certification programs or funding for attending industry events.

Reach Recruits on Social Media

Many companies are using social media marketing to improve their customer service and engage consumers, says Grossman, adding that businesses can apply this strategy to improve their recruiting.

In fact, Monster’s State of the Recruiter Survey revealed that posting job ads on social media was seen as the second most effective tool for sourcing candidates, and the second most effective way to communicate with Gen Z candidates after email.

“Some progressive companies like T-Mobile are doing Facebook video streams showing what a day in the life of an employee at the company is like,” Grossman says. Businesses are also using Twitter chats to answer questions from job seekers, Grossman adds.

Instagram stories can also help you attract candidates to your company. For instance, you can use stories to share photos from a fun event, like the company’s holiday party or an employee appreciation day.

Integrate A.I. and Machine Learning Into Your Marketing

You can improve how you market a job and stay relevant to today’s job seekers by embracing the latest recruiting technology. As Smith puts it, “If your company doesn’t adopt new technology, you’re not going to attract the best talent.”

Some companies use chatbots on their job posting websites, Grossman says. These computer programs — traditionally used to send customers instant messages when they land on business-to-consumer website — can help job seekers with basic tasks, like submitting a job application and troubleshooting technical issues. A.I. can also help with targeting, vetting, interviewing, and selecting quality candidates.

Grossman predicts more businesses will begin to adopt artificial intelligence to recruit new talent. “Robots aren’t taking over recruiting any time soon, but A.I. is helping empower recruiters with new tools,” Grossman says. These tools can free up recruiters to focus more of their time on their job marketing strategies.

Show Your Commitment to Work-Life Balance

Fostering work-life balance can help you attract candidates to your company. Almost half of Gen Z candidates cite work-life balance as being an important part of company culture, according to Monster’s recruitment survey.

If you offer flexible working arrangements, clearly outline them in your job descriptions and your website’s career page. You can also take a creative approach by sharing videos with job seekers that show employees describing how they enjoy a balance between their working and personal lives.

You can post these videos on not only your company’s website but also through video profiles that integrate into your Monster job postings to give job seekers a view of what it’s like to work at your company.

Now Attract Candidates to Your Company

These best practices will help you market your company. Reach qualified candidates quickly with a free job posting on Monster.

Understanding Pay Increases and the Average Raise

In times of low unemployment, it’s difficult to know if the compensation you’re offering is sufficient to attract and retain the talent your company needs. The question may seem straightforward, but it warrants a closer look. For instance, what is the average raise amount, and what if you’re unable to offer competitive raises?

Tight compensation budgets are creating talent challenges for recruiters. At the same time, employers are banking on a mix of limited salary increases and “total rewards” to retain in-demand workers. People work for more than just a paycheck, but you’ll need to get creative if you don’t have the budget for the typical raise percentage.

The following 10 tips will help you get your arms around the often-confounding nature of compensation dynamics and pay raises.

1. Know the Average Raise and What the Competition Pays

Before you even start calculating which employees get how much of a pay increase, you need to understand what it will take to reward and retain your top performers. This means getting a sense of the typical raise percentage and what your closest competitors pay, and then determining how much you’re able to increase payroll.

So, what is the average pay raise amount? Raises are typically within the 3 to 5 percent range, although this can fluctuate depending on the state of the labor market. When unemployment is low and employers are hurting for talent, it may take a little more to satisfy and ultimately retain your best workers. Additionally, high-demand professions (such as those in technology) may require generous raises regardless of broader economic conditions.

2. Make the Case That the Average Raise is All You Can Offer

What separates companies with major employee retention problems from those that keep most employees satisfied with middling raises? The answer is honesty, flexibility, and transparency in financial matters.

Some employees have come to understand that a flat 3 percent raise is what is being offered. But, while you should never underplay the importance of salary, employees are staying with their employers for flexible arrangements such as working from home, professional development programs, and other incentives beyond the pay raise they may be getting.

3. Don’t Try to Curb Your Compensation Costs

Though it may be necessary to keep pay increases in the moderate range, your company will get burned in the talent market if you actually reduce raises, especially during periods of full employment. Employers should be mindful that such periods are not the time to trim compensation budgets. Payroll will always be your biggest line item, but your people are your most valuable asset.

4. Use Bonuses Rather Than Pay Raises Whenever You Can

Be generous with bonuses if you’re unable to offer an average raise amount. Employers may choose to reward employees with a bonus rather than a raise, or to supplement a lower-than-expected raise, since bonuses don’t compound over time and offer more flexibility.

Another reason to use bonuses—your competitors are. Businesses have been increasingly utilizing retention bonuses as a way to promote better employee engagement and satisfaction. Top-performing companies tend to pay bonuses more frequently than typical companies, while surveys show that a majority of workers prefer tiered, performance-based bonuses.

5. Be Mindful of Pay Compression

When enticements for new hires cause their pay to exceed that of existing employees, you’re setting the stage for tension in the workplace as incumbent employees feel as though they’re falling behind financially. This occurrence is called “pay compression,” wherein the gap in pay between longer-tenured employees and new hires is compressed to the point where your more-senior employees feel slighted.

It’s important to deconflict your recruitment and retention strategies so they don’t work against each other. This may cause you to take another look at your average raise amount.

6. Watch Out for Pay Inequality in Your Workforce

It’s important to take a step back and take in the broader contours of your payroll when considering pay raises, since even the best intentions can come back to haunt you if they result in questionable pay discrepancies amount your staff. In addition to potential liability for pay inequality, exacerbating differences between haves and have-nots within your organization can also be a culture killer.

7. Seek Counsel Regarding Pay Equity and Salary-Inquiry Laws

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may be facing new laws governing wage discrimination and restrictions on your ability to inquire about past salaries. For example, a pay equity law in Massachusetts requires companies to provide equal pay for comparable work, with limited exceptions for such things as seniority, education, experience, and required travel.

These are important to factor into your retention strategy as you don’t want to inadvertently expose yourself to a lawsuit. If need be, seek outside advice on compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

8. Don’t Rely Too Much on WFH and Flexible Schedules

It’s important to offer flexible work options wherever you can, but know that there are limits and you’ll still need to offer a competitive salary and an average raise to retain top talent. While work from home options were more of a novel benefit in the early 2000s, advancements in technology and the acceleration of telecommuting during the COVID-19 quarantine of 2020-2021 have made these arrangements more commonplace.

9. Total Compensation Statements Can be Persuasive

Using a total compensation (or total rewards) statement itemizing the cost of perks such as health insurance and a 401(k) match, can help boost at least some of your workers’ engagement. If it’s clear, employees will appreciate the package you offer. This statement should fully explain each category of compensation and all employer contributions per category. A lunch session with a handout will be more effective than an email that’s easy to ignore.

10. Beyond the Numbers, Compensation is Really About People

Employees are trying to carve out a life and support themselves (and often children or other family members). Companies have a lot of leverage, so they’re able to do things employees may not like. However, wise employers know that if they fail to offer compensation that’s perceived as fair, employees may use the only leverage they have: looking elsewhere.

Take care of your people and your people will take care of your business—it’s as simple as that.

Are You Retaining Your Top Performers?

Compensation strategies are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. They need to be tailored to your industry and your workforce, whether you’re calculating starting salaries or the average raise amount, but they also need to comply with the law. It can get complicated, which is why we’re here. Find out how to get free access to the information you need, including the latest hiring news, recruitment tips and more.

Legal Disclaimer: None of the information provided herein constitutes legal advice on behalf of Monster.

How to Handle Employee Feedback: Examples and Responses

You don’t need to have a crystal ball to know what your employees want. You can gather employee feedback and make changes that will help you recruit and retain top talent.

Asking for feedback can lead to a boost in employee morale, meaning your employees will be happier and more motivated and engaged. Research has shown that companies with strong employee engagement outperform the competition because of factors including increased sales, higher-quality work, and improved employee retention.

How to Solicit Feedback

There are several strategies you can use to garner employee feedback, including:

Employee Engagement Surveys

Send quarterly, anonymous employee engagement surveys to learn how engaged your team members are and how you can improve their work experience. You can incentivize people to participate by providing gift cards, company swag, or an extra day off.

Gather valuable feedback by asking about a variety of topics such as the company culture, work-life balance, diversity and inclusion initiatives, teamwork, professional development programs, career advancement opportunities, and their relationship with their manager. For example, you could ask:

How would you describe the company culture? What could be improved?
Do you think you have opportunities for career advancement? What could be better?
What are some HR policies that would strengthen the company culture and foster more work-life balance?

Employee Pulse Surveys

Send monthly, anonymous employee pulse surveys to your team. These surveys are shorter than employee engagement surveys so you’re likely to have higher participation rates. Because you send them more frequently than employee engagement surveys, you can see clearer trends like the impact of any changes you made based on previous employee feedback.

It can be helpful to ask the same questions every month. (To make it easier to complete, you can ask a mix of scale and yes-or-no questions.) Here are a few to get you started:

How likely are you to look for another job?
How would you rate your satisfaction with your compensation and benefits?
How would you rate our professional development initiatives?

Stay Interviews

Ask managers or your HR team to conduct annual, one-on-one stay interviews with your employees. Unlike exit interviews, these meetings give you the opportunity to make changes that could prevent your employees from handing in their two weeks’ notice. It’s helpful to ask a mix of questions about their job satisfaction and overall work experience. Touch on a variety of topics like company culture, compensation and benefits, career growth opportunities, and job responsibilities. For example, you could ask:

What do you like most about your role and responsibilities? What responsibilities would you want to add or remove?
What are your main short- and long-term professional goals, from learning a new skill to making a lateral move or earning a promotion? What additional support and resources do you need to achieve them?
What perks or policies would you like to see to strengthen your work experience, such as a compressed work week, flextime, or backup childcare?

Exit Interviews

While the employee feedback you learn in exit interviews won’t help you retain the team member who is headed out the door, you’re likely to gain insights that you can use to improve the company culture and increase your retention rate. You may want to have your managers or HR team ask:

What is the primary reason you’re switching companies?
Are there any changes that could have been made to your role, the company culture, or policies to make you stay?
What was your favorite and least favorite thing about working here?

One-on-One Meetings

Require managers to conduct weekly or biweekly one-on-one meetings with their direct reports. They can use these meetings to discuss current and upcoming projects, career development plan progress, and feedback. It would be helpful to garner feedback by asking questions such as:

Is there any additional support or resources I can provide to help you reach your goals?
Do you need help with any challenges or roadblocks you’re facing?
Do you have any feedback or concerns you’d like to share?

Employee Feedback Examples and Responses

Use the feedback you receive to implement changes that can increase job satisfaction and improve the overall work experience. For example, if your employees say they want:

Better work-life balance. Consider implementing flexible working arrangements such as flextime, remote work, job sharing, a compressed work week, part-time work, and a shift schedule. You may also want to encourage team members not to send emails after working hours and on weekends so that people don’t feel like they must be glued to their inboxes.
A clear career trajectory. You’re likely to have higher employee morale and engagement if you have ample opportunities for career advancement. You could create clear trajectories for each role, career development plans for each employee, and an internal hiring process.
More professional development initiatives. If you haven’t already, you may want to develop an orientation, mentorship, and hard and soft skill training programs. You could also provide a professional development stipend that your employees can use for certification programs, one-off courses, and conferences.
Different job responsibilities. One of the easiest ways to improve job satisfaction is to let employees have some control over their job responsibilities. Ask your managers to work with your team members to add or remove some responsibilities.
Stronger working relationships. Consider creating more team bonding events and employee resource groups (ERGs) so your team members get to connect on a personal level.

Continue to Strengthen Your Company Culture

After acting on the employee feedback you receive, you’ll be well on your way to improving your company culture. As an added benefit, you’re likely to have a lower turnover rate and an easier time recruiting top talent. Double down on your efforts by implementing expert-recommended hiring and management advice from Monster.

Affordable Small Business Benefits

If your small business is cash-strapped, then you’re not alone. Most startups and small businesses, particularly those in the service industry, are burning the candle at both ends and doing more with less as they work to differentiate themselves from larger competitors.

But, even though you can’t justify exotic employee retreats or luxury boxes at the local sports arena, you need to provide something of value in addition to base compensation. Small business benefits need not be elaborate or expensive, but can go a long way toward recruiting and retaining top talent.

These relatively low-cost benefits will help attract new hires and complement your compensation packages, helping you to retain the talent you worked so hard to recruit. An added benefit: these relatively affordable perks will help differentiate your new employer brand.

Flexible Work Options

While many small businesses require a physical presence or set hours, flexible arrangements (if applicable) are attractive to job-seekers looking for a better work-life balance. Perks such as flexible work schedules and telecommuting options are highly-valued small business benefits that won’t cost you much, if anything.

In fact, letting your employees work remotely is one of the best low-cost employee benefits you can offer, and may even save your company money on office expenses. Also, in terms of employee productivity and savings, telecommuting eliminates the commute to work and its associated costs, such as gas, parking and wear and tear on the vehicle. An extra bonus for employers is the ability to hire candidates from a much wider geographical region.

Voluntary Small Business Benefits

A startup benefits package doesn’t have to come out of your own pocket. It can include benefits that employees can elect to pay for themselves, such as life, disability income, critical illness, and accident insurance policies. Depending on the number of employees you have, you can negotiate better rates and better underwriting than an individual could obtain on their own, with the convenience of payroll deductions.

After salary, healthcare benefits are perhaps the most important part of the compensation package for employees. Under the Affordable Care Act, companies with more than 50 full-time workers can provide healthcare benefits at a much lower cost than they could before passage of the bill. This will allow you to focus on less-pricey yet still valuable perks that make your company more attractive.

Another popular voluntary benefit is the flexible savings account (or FSA), which allows your employees to set aside pre-tax income for copayments, deductibles, and other non-covered health care costs. The main advantage of FSAs is the ability avoid taxes when covering these types of expenses.

Discounts, Gifts, and Food

You may be able to negotiate deals with department stores, health clubs, and restaurants for discounts. Another option is to approach other small businesses, such as restaurants and other retail operations, about special deals or coupons for your employees. In addition, you could, for example, cover the cost of attending a sports event for the “employee of the month” and their family as part of an employee recognition program.

Many entrepreneurs and managers have also discovered that food is a fantastic small business benefit. This can be as simple as keeping healthy snacks (and occasional bags of bite-sized candy bars) on hand for employees to catering lunches in the office. Some companies provide bagels, fresh fruit, and other goodies on Fridays for breakfast.

As an added benefit for employers, people tend to work longer hours because their internal clocks don’t tell them to go home to dinner. Supplying food and snacks also leads to more interdepartmental collaboration and relationship building. You might also complement any provided food and beverages with a comfortable lounge or gathering place, which helps encourage teamwork.

In-office snacks also are a good recruiting tool, especially when you’re looking to impress a candidate. When a candidate coming into your place of business is offered a beverage (other than the standard coffee or water) and a snack, they’ll associate these gestures with a nurturing environment.

Fitness and Wellness Options

With all the food you’ll be providing your employees, you’ll also want to offer them some healthy workplace wellness options. Some workplaces offer exercise equipment, dedicated rooms for yoga or meditation, or the freedom to go for walks or play one-on-one basketball during the workday. Exercising together can help keep your team stay upbeat and focused, while giving them the stamina they need to endure longer shifts.

Exercise also helps employees reach their own wellness goals and can help build collaboration through friendly wellness challenges. Those are the type of small business benefits that can be a win-win for employers and employees alike.

Mentoring and Skills Training

Most workers don’t stay with the same employer for more than five or so years, but they do value career support in the form of skills training (or “upskilling“) and mentoring opportunities. This could be as simple as partnering new recruits with more-seasoned employees (who themselves may seek the opportunity to become mentors) or curating free or low-cost online training materials to help them reach their broader professional goals.

You could also invest in in-house training sessions or an online upskilling platform for your staff, from which they could choose courses suitable to their position and career trajectory. Also, they may be more likely to stick around a little longer if they know you care about their professional development.

Make Sure Your Small Business Benefits and Recruiting Efforts Help You Succeed

If you’re looking to recruit ideal candidates to your startup, and ultimately keep them working toward a singular goal, perks and benefits are a great investment. Recruiting and hiring the best people is a full-time job, but Monster can help. Sign up to receive expert tips on the latest hiring trends, effective benefits, and more, directly to your inbox.

How to Pay Employees in a Startup: Think Outside the Box

Hiring your first employees to help build your new business means it’s time to figure out what your compensation structure will look like. Determining how to pay employees in a startup is no simple task, but the key is to strike the right balance that enables you to compete for talent while staying within your means.

New businesses often struggle with the challenge of designing a compensation strategy that is comprehensive and competitive enough to attract top talent. While it’s not only about the money, as startups tend to offer more opportunities than larger companies, you do have to pay good wages for top performers.

Deciding where to spend finite resources can be difficult, especially for business owners who have never designed startup compensation packages before. Here are several tips to help you figure out how to pay employees in a startup—and keep your new employees happy.

Think Outside the Compensation Box

As an entrepreneur, you already have some experience with being flexible, so apply that same approach as you figure out how to pay your startup employees. This may include incentives on top of a base salary, so that your employees do well financially as your business grows.

For instance, pay structures that promote additional work towards company objectives like bonuses and commissions can reduce fixed salary costs but still meet prospective employees’ needs. These types of incentives also keep your employees more engaged in their work.

Additionally, employers with fewer than 50 full-time employees are not required to provide health insurance benefits (or pay the tax penalty for refusing to do so). While offering affordable health benefits is a good idea, and something many employees are looking for, you may find that as a startup, you just can’t afford it yet. In that case, examine other benefits that could be appealing to the startup employee, such as wellness programs, flexible savings accounts (FSAs), or flexible work schedules.

Finally, keep in mind the age and experience level of your prospective hires will help guide decisions on how to pay employees in a startup. Younger employees tend to value things like culture, perks, and work-life balance, while more experienced workers care more about traditional benefits, like 401(k) plans. Ideally, you’ll want a mix of employees of all ages.

Be Transparent

There isn’t always a culture of transparency around compensation, and it’s still a matter of taboo to openly discuss salaries. However, it shouldn’t be a black box and employees should have some sense of where they are on the compensation ladder. This is why a policy based on open salaries can avoid significant headaches in the future.

For example, if the top employee earns X, then the lower employee should earn X minus Y, based on experience and other factors. Transparent startup compensation packages can keep everyone on the same page and avoid misunderstandings or disappointment. Even if company salaries are mostly opaque, you can still communicate a percentage range and frequency of raises (and how they align with performance metrics) and cost of living increases.

However, if you use transparent contracts, avoid guaranteeing long-term employment or substantial severance payments to anyone, because doing so can hamper innovation or change. It requires a certain balance, since you want to retain top talent by providing encouragement and security without limiting your future options.

Hire for Fit and Mission

Take a cue from the next generation of business owners as they redefine small business management. They often prioritize soft skills and building a vibrant company culture. So, as you decide how to pay employees in a startup, consider prioritizing certain soft skills, too, such as:

Adaptability
Teamwork
Problem-solving
Emotional intelligence
Conflict resolution

People generally aren’t prioritizing money when they take jobs at startups, and they often could make more at an established competitor. However, they believe in the idea, the project, and the people. If you have those properly aligned, then the startup compensation package will be a smaller consideration. Instead, look for ways to spend on boosting a culture that will attract the kind of employees you’re looking for.

Be Mindful About Equity

Finally, think carefully before sharing equity. While it’s often seen as an easy to way to round out a startup’s salary structure, it’s not always a good fit. Some employees may not need nor want to become owners, and not all employers want to give up too much of their company.

Instead, consider sharing profits through incentive compensation plans, which ties compensation to performance. These plans can be just as useful in attracting and retaining talent as it is a way of compensating employees when you’re struggling to get your business going.

Learn How to Pay Employees in a Startup, and Beyond

Once you’ve figured out how to structure you startup compensation packages, you’ll need to find candidates who have the right skills and believe in your mission. While hiring for a startup presents unique challenges, it’s entirely doable with the right mindset and tools. Our actionable management tips and updates on hiring trends, delivered free to your inbox, can give you an assist.

Compensation Packages for Small Business: Which One is Right for You?

While many small businesses have a solid business plan in place, they often falter when it comes to devising compensation packages. While it may seem like an afterthought once you’ve put so much effort into launching your business, determining the right compensation for small business employees is crucial to recruiting and keeping top performers.

Every business needs to have a compensation plan in place that reflects its overall strategy and values. Failing to strategize hinders your ability to compete for the best talent, but also can result in overextending your resources if you’re not careful. Finding the right balance is the key.

Choosing the right compensation packages for your employees—luring talented candidates, retaining them, and leaving room for promotions—will help your small business succeed. The following suggestions will help you get started.

Don’t Wait to Strategize

Small businesses need to keep their salary structure current, offering a competitive advantage over other small businesses in the same market, while also leveraging the unique opportunities smaller organizations can offer that larger competitors often can’t. For instance, you may be able to offer them more autonomy and more responsibility, at slightly less pay, than what a larger competitor could offer.

Some small businesses mistakenly believe they don’t need to draft a comprehensive compensation program until their company gets much bigger. They may view it as a limitation on their ability to make nimble business decisions in regard to employee pay. But it’s important to think long-term, imagining where your company will be in a few years and factoring in the cost of raises and additional hires.

Your pay structure is a vital piece of the overall pie, right along with revenue projections and your break-even target. Having a set plan for the compensation packages you’re able to offer gives you a better, clearer picture of your business, and therefore allows you to make better decisions.

Look at the Job and its Location

Salaries for small businesses are not necessarily based on the same data used by large companies. When determining a job’s market value, job location is often as important as the job title.

The Small Business Administration has a wealth of information for business owners and recommends doing an online search using keywords such as “[job title], salary range, [your location]” to determine how to better understand the market for particular jobs in your area. You may be surprised at how much they vary from one location to another.

For many positions, especially in technology, companies may be national rather than regional. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, a large majority of companies with employees in more than one geographic location differ their pay structures by region and review their differentials annually. This is important to keep in mind as you compete for talent.

If you’re seeking candidates who live outside of your immediate area, be sure to utilize a salary relocation calculator to help determine fair compensation.

Be Transparent About Your Compensation Strategy

In the past, many businesses believed that talking about compensation should only be done behind closed doors. But a growing number of successful small business managers today believe in an open pay policy that reveals a compensation strategy that is committed to investing in top talent.

In fact, being honest and candid about your compensation practices and how you benchmark salaries can have a positive impact on trust and employee morale. Plus, the growing trend among workers is to talk about their salaries with others, so you might as well be transparent about it from the get-go.

Consider Implementing Salary Ranges

While not all businesses feel as though they are ready to implement salary ranges, including a pay range in your compensation packages can be very beneficial to your retention efforts. It’s also a great way to recruit talented professionals who want to grow with your company.

By establishing a salary range, you can show employees where they are starting on the range, and illustrate how they have room to grow. If an employee is at the top of the salary range, you can talk to them about a growth track and how they can thrive at your company, perhaps by getting the skills and training needed to be a manager.

Anticipate Expectations About Reviews, Raises, and Bonuses

Many small businesses are moving away from annual reviews, preferring instead to offer more frequent feedback. This strategy is particularly important for retaining millennial employees, but all has the added advantage of providing more opportunities to address areas of needed improvement.

Some larger companies, including IBM, Microsoft, and General Electric, are leading the trend by replacing annual performance reviews and offering employees more frequent informal reviews, where they can set and update quarterly goals and offer opportunities for individual growth.

Paige Campbell, president and partner at Grady Britton, a creative agency in Portland, says her employees receive quarterly rewards based on performance including a bonus day off or a long, leisurely lunch paid for by the company.

Employees and work teams are also celebrated throughout the year when they have demonstrated superior performance. If someone has done an outstanding job, for example, they may receive a mid-year raise instead of waiting a full year to be recognized for their achievements. This type of compensation also helps incentivize your workforce.

Don’t Forget: Compensation Packages Should Include Benefits

Compensation for small business employees isn’t just about the money, which can be good news for business owners on a tight budget. Additional ideas for attracting and retaining great employees include:

Flexible work schedules and remote work options.
Better vacation and sick day packages.
Health and wellness benefits.
Exceptional work culture and environment.
Employee perks like discounts and company parties or trips.
Skills and career development programs.

Getting creative and understanding the expectations of today’s workforce can help you make a competitive offer to attractive candidates even when you’re faced with a tight labor market.

Get Help With Compensation Packages, Hiring, and More

Competing for top talent and choosing the right compensation for small business employees is no small task. But, with a balanced, strategic approach, it is possible to find and retain high-quality candidates who will help your business grow. If you’re interested in making your recruitment and hiring process more efficient and effective, sign up to receive expert recruitment insights and the latest hiring news today.

Recruiting Millennials: Strategies for Finding and Hiring Gen Y

Currently, millennials (born 1981–1996) make up the majority of the U.S. labor force at 35%, followed closely by Generation X (1965–1980) at 33%. Generation Z (1997–2012) is the youngest generation and is just entering the workforce, representing just 5%, while Baby Boomers (1946–1964) have dwindled to 25%. As the older generations continue to retire, these generational gaps will only grow. This means that in the coming years, hiring millennials will become more of a necessity since they will represent the majority of the workforce for some time. Use these seven strategies to facilitate a smooth transition as you prepare for the next generation of workers.

Tips for Attracting and Hiring Millennials

Although millennials are often unfairly labeled as lazy and narcissistic, research shows they are some of the most educated and employed of the bunch. They care deeply about joining companies that:

Utilize technology in creative ways.
Invest in career advancement and personal growth.
Provide a flexible work environment.
Prioritize company culture.
Have a strong company purpose.
Offer a great benefits package.
Care about mental health and well-being.

Generation Z, who are entering the workforce closely on millennials’ heels, share many of the same workplace requirements. This means these issues will be at the forefront of recruiting millennials for some time. Here’s how to build a multigenerational team that will thrive for years to come.

1. Digitize Your Hiring Process

Millennials grew up in the age of the Internet and are more comfortable searching for jobs online than in person. Studies show that 85% of millennials use job search sites to hunt for their next job opportunity, and they are the most likely to also use search engines and social media to learn about companies.

If you’re serious about hiring millennials, step up your employer branding, fine-tune your social media recruitment strategy, and optimize your online presence for the mobile experience. When you make it easy for these tech-savvy candidates to submit their resumes and move through your hiring process, they are more likely to apply for and remain interested in the jobs you post.

2. Offer Ample Opportunities for Growth

Nearly 55% of millennials are living paycheck to paycheck, and 33% have taken on a side hustle in addition to their full-time work. Furthermore, with high levels of inflation and increased societal unrest, many have cost-of-living and retirement concerns. This means financial security — now and in the future — is big on their list.

Though low pay is the number one reason millennials have left previous positions, room for learning and growth is at the top of the list for choosing their next employer. When hiring millennials, clarify how your candidates can continue to advance at your company. Also, train managers to adopt more of a coaching than supervisor role and provide millennials with ample feedback. Showcase which skills you will help them build, be transparent about potential career-growth trajectories, and share your plans for that employee — not just for when you hire them, but for the future as well.

3. Provide a Flexible Work Environment

Though financial security is the biggest reason millennials will leave a company, a great work-life balance is the number one reason they choose to work for a company. Most millennials want to work remotely three to four days per week, but they also want the opportunity to come into the office to collaborate.

Consider transitioning to a hybrid work environment where employees can choose where and how they work. This gives millennials the chance to perform well at their job while spending more time with family and saving money on their commute.

4. Prioritize Company Culture

As one of the most diverse generations yet, millennials want to work for companies that embrace an inclusive work culture, celebrate diversity, and make employees feel valued. Reach out to a variety of communities, including professional networks that cater to underrepresented groups.

When evaluating candidates, behavioral interviews are an effective way to gauge their values and ability to work within a diverse organization. Make it clear that equality and diversity are a priority at your organization.

5. Have a Strong Company Purpose

Millennials often refuse to work for or buy from companies that don’t align with their values. This generation cares about diverse and inclusive cultures, environmental impacts, and income equality. Though these issues won’t necessarily prevent millennials from accepting your job offer, they can influence retention. Those who appreciate their employers’ impact on society and the environment are more likely to stay for more than five years.

When hiring millennials, show candidates what your business is doing to improve the world around them. Also, invite them to suggest ideas for how you can make an even greater impact.

6. Analyze Your Benefits and Perks

Don’t leave out information about traditional benefits and retirement plans — after all, Generation Y is all-too-familiar with debt and unemployment. However, when recruiting millennials, speak to their other top priorities, like the fact that they tend to be socially conscious, health conscious, and experience-driven.

To improve your chances of hiring millennials, focus on benefits and perks that help them keep on top of their finances and health, such as a generous health insurance policy and 401k plan. Also consider other benefits, such as commuter reimbursement and unlimited sick days.

7. Provide Mental Wellness Support

Better mental health and wellness support is also top of mind for millennials. They report high levels of stress and burnout, which are reasons many quit.

Stay aware of workplace pressures, such as high workloads and relationships between managers and coworkers. Show that you value self-care by offering wellness days or connecting employees with mental-health resources such as employee assistance programs. Also, make sure your managers are leading by example.

Continue Building a Dynamic Workforce

When hiring millennials and improving your recruitment efforts, you need to understand their priorities and expectations. Whether you’re filling an immediate position or are developing a long-term recruiting strategy for your business, access a large pool of millennial candidates with a free job posting on Monster.