What Prospective Employees are Looking for in a New Job

It sounds simple, but today's employees are looking for more than just compensation and traditional perks, so organizations are completely rethinking how they attract, retain, and manage their talent.

Employees prioritize learning and development. People become more motivated when they can develop their skills, so it's important to give your team ample opportunity to expand their capabilities in new areas. On-going training is a must to maintain current job skills, but even more importantly to add to them. Fortune magazine’s annual list of the world's best companies shows that the highest-ranking companies give employees 40-60 hours of training and education each year.

Employees want a modern workplace. People are tired of the old-fashioned cubicles and old-school tools. Companies can attract top talent by providing a variety of options and environments for employees to work as well as new technology to interact with.

Employees want opportunities for growth. Many people find it hard to be motivated when they feel stagnant in their job. Offer continued learning and opportunities for growth so that employees can see a pathway up the career ladder. If your company offers the chance for employees to focus on improvement and skill expansion, then it increases the likelihood that the person will stay with the company instead of looking for another job.

Employees want recognition. It is demoralizing to put a lot of time and effort into your work, only to have the recognition go to a manager or someone else on the team. Failing to give recognition could make someone feel like their work isn’t valued, leading to low morale and high turnover. Instead of only offering constructive criticism, look for opportunities to provide positive feedback and praise for a job well done. Leverage technology to track employees' numbers and offer team-wide recognition and call outs.