Let’s talk about benefits. Google employees boast about receiving in-house massages, while those from Twitter enjoy on-site acupuncture and improv classes. But you need not have benefits of that caliber to attract candidates – you probably already offer ones that highlight how amazing it is to work at your company.
More than half of job seekers responding to a Glassdoor survey in 2016 indicated that they take benefits into strong consideration when weighing a job offer. The same survey found that 80% of employees would choose additional benefits over a pay increase
We dug deep on how benefits impact candidate attraction by analyzing 7.6 million job ads. Turns out, if you already discuss benefits in yours, you’re one step ahead of the competition. Only 52% of the job ads in our study included benefits.
How Can You Further Fine-Tune Your Postings?
Appcast Research found that the benefit heavyweights – those that are associated with higher apply rates – were regular incremental bonus, pet insurance, health insurance, stock options/employee stock purchase plan, and 401(k). If the job for which you’re advertising offers any of these, it is a good idea to highlight these benefits.
Research also found that it is best to mention benefits in threes. Job ads with this magic number had the highest apply rate (9.22%).
To understand how hiring organizations could improve upon the provided benefits information in job ads, we dissected a few. Here are examples from companies you’re sure to recognize.
The Home Depot
The Home Depot’s job ad is simple and concise – perfect for job seekers who are skimming through multiple postings. To optimize this description, the benefits could be cut down to three since some “heavyweights” are included here: incremental pay increases, discounted stock purchase plan, health & dental benefits.
Shake Shack
The benefits mentioned in Shake Shack’s job ad are represented more visually, as opposed to being listed in bullet points. This alternative helps the company direct attention to their quartet of offerings.
Going back to our magic number, this could be improved by omitting “Paid Time Off.” Appcast Research shows that paid time off (i.e., paid vacation, paid sick time, paid personal time) gets mixed results when it comes to apply rates.
This job ad also states that the position offers “competitive pay” which is an umbrella term for many benefits. Competitive compensation packages typically encompass health insurance, retirement options, and other benefits. Since “Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance” and “401(k) Plan + Company Match” have already been included here, it would be advisable to swap out “Competitive Pay and Growth” for another well-performing benefit.
HelloFresh
HelloFresh mixes elements from the previous examples in their ad, using a bulleted list and bolded words, instead of icons, to bring focus to specific words. They have also attempted to make the listing’s tone conversational, with sentences like “that’s over $4,500 in savings per year!” and “We hire from within!” You may infuse your company’s personality in your listing like HelloFresh does to build rapport with candidates.
Furthermore, this position’s incremental pay structure is also explained, which could help applicants make more informed and confident decisions. Ultimately, it differentiates HelloFresh from the pack.
One way to refine this listing would be to cut down on the benefits mentioned. For instance, the wage could be put in a separate section. The benefits mentioning a “dynamic work environment” and “career growth” could be removed from the listing as they do not have any substantial impact on apply rates.
The benefits could be trimmed down to: continual pay rate increases, 401(k) plan with company match, and health insurance.
In Conclusion…
The benefits section of your job ads plays an important role in reeling in candidates. It is important to understand that job benefits and their effects on candidate attraction vary by industry and job function. To find out how to tailor benefits accordingly, check out our whitepaper Job Ad Content: How Benefits Impact Candidate Attraction!
