Are you keeping up with the changing job market? 5 tips to be more attractive to (potential) employees

The market is picking up, which is great. But it also means that workers and job seekers have more room and freedom of choice. That makes finding and keeping qualified personnel a lot harder. You can make it easier for yourself with a personnel policy aimed at sustainable employability. That gives you a lot: healthier employees and thus less absenteeism. But also higher productivity, more commitment and happier employees. All themes that increase the attractiveness of your organization. Do I have your attention? Then I have 5 important tips for you. I walk you through them one by one below.

#1 Education

Training is very important. It enables an employee to often perform their job for longer - and better. This is especially true for vulnerable groups such as workers with outdated qualifications or those in more physically demanding jobs (think store assistants or warehouse workers). When you invest in their training, you emphasize your commitment and increase their opportunities for advancement and motivation.

With the help of career management, you align the needs of the organization with the wishes and skills of the employee on a regular and long-term basis. Topics of discussion then include the extent to which your employees are still in their place, their future plans and the balance between work and private life. Also not unimportant: since the introduction of the Work and Security Act, the government expects employers to examine whether an employee can be redeployed within the organization by means of retraining and/or refresher training if, for example, the employee does not perform well or if his or her position becomes redundant. So investing in training pays off in more ways than one.

#2 Flexibility

For some time now, the Flexible Working Act has been in effect. This law responds to changing needs of employees to better balance work and private life. Flexible working ensures that employees are deployed more effectively and the risk of overwork is reduced. The result: more productive and healthier employees. Examples of flexible working include facilitating working from home, flexible start and end times, part-time work and parental leave. Note: if you do not make any arrangements, you may be in for nasty surprises. An employee has the right to request an adjustment of his/her workplace, working days and working hours. You may only refuse if an explicit policy has been drawn up for this and you can demonstrate that working from home is impossible for certain positions. So think carefully about which freedoms do and do not suit your company and certain jobs and record this.

#3 Mobility

The goal of mobility is to retain employees for the organization by moving them internally to a more suitable position. This can be because their own work is becoming too physically demanding, but also because someone needs a new challenge. You achieve mobility by implementing a life-phase-conscious policy, an active career policy, a training policy and conducting a planning and development cycle.

With employees who can no longer fully perform their tasks, you can make customized arrangements. The result: employees enjoy their work more and are more productive. Incidentally, the government encourages the employment of older workers and the disabled by granting employers (on an annual basis) a labor cost advantage when they hire someone who is currently receiving benefits.

#4 Health

A healthy employee is usually also a sustainable employee. At least, that is the premise. When you as an employer take care of the employee's health, the employee usually rewards you with less absenteeism. You can contribute to the health of your staff by implementing a smoking policy, for example, but also by providing good facilities and promoting healthy behavior. With a bicycle plan, a healthy lunch or by encouraging and facilitating sports, you contribute to fit and active employees who feel good about themselves. If necessary, make agreements with several companies to purchase or promote each other's services, with or without discounts for your employees. For example, consider a sports club, bike store, caterer, beauty, etc.

#5 Diversity

Also, when you take into account the aspects in which employees differ, you contribute to the sustainable employability of your employees. Such a "diversity policy" targets all employees, but focuses on a particular issue. An example. You have employees with a language deficiency. If you let them take a language course at your expense, their language skills improve. As a result, mutual communication improves. This facilitates the work of your employees, which benefits your organization. You can also include in your diversity policy a "life stage conscious" policy that focuses on the needs of employees at different life stages within your organization. In this way, you deploy all employees, regardless of age, in the best and most sustainable way possible.

More practical tips?

Of course, sustainable personnel management is customized. Would you like to spar about the possibilities for your organization? Please feel free to contact me.