Throughout 2023 we saw a lot of Business Support candidates active and available in the market, giving employers multiple options for their hiring needs, making majority of hires quick and easy. Then we slid into 2024 where we saw hesitation and demands from candidates to ensure that opportunities met every one of their drivers for both career and life aspirations, lengthening the recruitment process and limiting the candidate pools. Now heading into 2025, we’re seeing a good level of talent active in the market, however the personal and career drivers are still key factors to consider, as well as competing opportunities available!
Having the right support staff in your team can either make or break both culture and work results, so we’ve listed 4 tips below to help you attract and retain the gems of the business support world for your team!
1. Showcase Your Brand & Culture
Company culture and reputation is a big swaying factor for candidates. Being able to highlight your company culture, success stories & employee benefits through social media, company documentation or pitching in interview is a big step in the right direction to showing a potential employee how great it is to work with your team!
2. Speed Up the Hiring Process
They say “time kills deals”, and this is extremely accurate when it comes to recruitment and interviews to hire stage. Unfortunately, many companies lose out on great candidates due to slow decision-making. To make the process as streamlined and efficient as possible, reduce unnecessary interview rounds, set clear timelines, and provide feedback within 24 hours of interviews. Quick, decisive hiring prevents candidates from getting cold feet or accepting offers elsewhere!
3. Be Flexible – Where Possible
While some businesses still prefer full-time office presence, flexibility is now a top priority for candidates. Yes, there are some roles where you cannot do the work remotely, however for those that have tasks that can be done in or out of office, offering a level of flexibility can expand the talent pool considerably. Whether it be the option to adjust start/finish times to suit individual staff members, or a hybrid model (either set days or flexibility depending on diaries/workload), offering a level of flexibility is highly appealing to candidates!
4. Offer Competitive Salaries & Benefits
Whilst salary isn’t the top factor for a lot of candidates, the rising cost living is still on everyone’s minds and will play a big part in a candidates end decision to accept a role or not. Candidates expect a reasonable and competitive salary, but in addition to salary, factors such as staff perks, professional development and training, wellbeing support and team incentives are all areas that candidates will factor into their decision.
2025 is looking to be an active year with candidates looking to make their next career move, so factoring in the above tips will put you in the best position to attract and secure the best of the bunch for your team!