Winning Top IT Talent with Education Incentives
Posted November 14th, 2014
A recent study conducted by Accenture revealed several interesting details about the current job market – 80 percent of recent college graduates expected their first employers to offers on-the-job training, but only 48 percent received it. Further research showed that just 0.5 percent of all online job ads mention on-the-job training at all.
This is important data to consider because it suggests that employers are failing to meet the demands of the next generation of employees. And, when they are meeting those demands, they aren’t doing much to publicize it. For hiring managers struggling to recruit and retain the best available IT talent, it’s clear that offering education incentives is an under-utilized strategy. Here’s why it can be such an effective recruitment tool:
Differentiate Yourself from Other Companies
Returning to the data, 32 percent of recent graduates were looking for something they didn’t receive. And since a minuscule number of recruiters saw fit to mention on-the-job training, most applicants didn’t even know what they were getting into. Establishing an on-the-job training program, and then publicizing it in job ads, on social media, and during interviews, can set your company apart from the vast majority of your competitors.
Alleviate New-Hire Anxiety
The reason that on-the-job training programs are so popular is that they show the new hire exactly what will be expected of them and exactly how to live up to those expectations. As a new hire, it’s easy to worry that you are underperforming and putting your future in jeopardy. On-the-job training eliminates this worry and serves as a powerful onboarding tool.
Offer Cost-Effective Compensation
On-the-job training is an effective way to sweeten a compensation package without significantly adding to the costs faced by the company. Compared to higher salaries and expanded benefits packages, a training program is cheap to set up and even cheaper to operate. Plus, it has the added benefit of cultivating a higher caliber of employee. Ultimately, the cost/benefit is firmly in the company’s favor while still working as an incentive for potential recruits.
Expand Your Candidate Pool
Top talent is often remarkable for having a very deep or specific skill set, not for having a wide skill set. On-the-job training allows you to recruit candidates with specialized abilities and then teach them the rest of what they need to know on the job. That allows you to consider a wider pool of candidates and confidently pick the ones who can make the most significant contribution.
Attracting today’s top IT talent isn’t easy. And unless you are considering “outside-the-box” recruitment strategies like prioritizing on-the-job training, you might be getting ignored by the best of the best. Build the strongest, most dynamic workforce possible by working with the team at Bayside Solutions.
