In a competitive job market, companies are rethinking flexibility, culture, and communication to attract—and keep—top talent
With plenty of people still on the hunt in the current job market, it’s a prime time to reevaluate your company’s hiring processes and consider new ways to help position yourself as an employer of choice. We spoke with Christina Graese, vice president of sales and marketing at Burnsville-based Brandl Anderson Homes, to share her insights into what companies can do to attract, retain, and engage the top talent of today.
“Flexibility is the overwhelming thing I hear as I’m hiring people these days, oftentimes even more than salary,” says Graese. “People want to know your company’s stance on flexibility and what that might look like for them, whether it’s the hours they’re working or the ability to do some hybrid or at-home work. If you’re able to offer those types of options, it’s something a lot of people value in an employer.”
While the national COVID-19 pandemic affected many employees’ physical working locations, it also affected their priorities. A cultural shift occurred that placed more emphasis on creating a healthy work-life balance, evident in the workforce’s growing mentality that “A job shouldn’t be your entire life; it should support your life.”
“People are trying to better balance their work and life, whether that’s being able to schedule an appointment during the day, picking your kid up from school, or staying home with them when they’re sick,” explains Graese. “It’s important to them to feel they have the support of their employer when it comes to making those decisions, and as an employer, I’ve found you tend to get more out of your employees when they feel safe and trusted.”
With many companies issuing return-to-office mandates (and many employees’ responding resistance), creating a strong and welcoming company culture is more important than ever. If your company requires people to work in-office, it’s crucial that employees see it as a valuable opportunity to collaborate and achieve, rather than an empty request to simply see “more bodies in chairs.”
“Potential employees place a high value on company culture,” Graese adds. “If you’re going to ask them to come into the office, they don’t want to just sit in cubes and not talk all day—they can do that at home. You want to create a positive environment where there’s a reason for them to show up in person; otherwise, they’re not going to want to come in, and then they’re not going to be able to achieve and excel.”
Since Minnesota has plenty of building and remodeling companies of all shapes and sizes, Graese encourages everyone to lean into their strengths. While larger companies may have the resources to offer higher pay or a more attractive benefits package, smaller companies may have the ability to offer a wider variety of flexible working options.
“People are looking to work at a place where they’re valued, and they tend to feel valued when they feel their opinions are heard and they can see their work is having a tangible effect on the business,” explains Graese. “That’s a benefit for us at Brandl Anderson—we’re a smaller company, so employees have a more direct line to leadership as opposed to a larger, more corporate environment where you might be further removed from those decision-makers.”
Finally, with job-hopping a much more common practice in today’s workforce compared to previous generations, and the process of replacing valuable employees being both time-consuming and costly, it’s important to find ways to retain that top talent you worked so hard to attract in the first place.
“Communication is key—be open and accessible, and really get to know your employees and their lifestyle,” says Graese. “Dig deep into their goals: Are they happy in their current position? Do they want to move up into a higher position, or even into a different part of the building industry? It’s a benefit to be able to allow your employees to wear multiple hats and explore different areas they might be interested in.”
If you want to position your company as a top employer of choice, Graese recommends first taking another look at your options for flexible work. “The fact is, COVID made a lot of companies and employees see that not only can their jobs be done in multiple places, but they may be done better in those places,” she says. “If you can offer some kind of flexibility that supports their life realities, it really adds to an employee feeling valued. Then, in response, they’re going to give you even more.”
