According to Totaljobs research based on 17.5 million job adverts and a survey of 3,000 candidates, if you’re not advertising the full benefits package, you will be risking candidates overlooking your vacancies and applying to your competitors.
Salary remains the leading factor for 72% of candidates when considering a new role, but two thirds (66%) say they would trade a pay rise for their most valued benefit, with flexible working hours topping the list. At the same time, 41% of candidates prioritise flexible hours, yet only 13% of job adverts mention them. Enhanced sick pay is valued by 26% of candidates but appears in just 4% of adverts. Health insurance, pension contributions, learning and development opportunities and mental health support all show similar gaps between what candidates want and what employers promote.
Too often, vacancy briefings focus on salary, job responsibilities and technical requirements, while many of the factors that genuinely influence decision making are left out. Candidates are increasingly looking at the complete employment package and whether it aligns with their lifestyle, values and long term goals.
- Bonus and commission structures
- Profit share schemes
- Pension contributions above the statutory minimum
- Private medical cover and wellbeing support
- Learning and development opportunities
- Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
- Additional holiday entitlement
- Team socials and company events
- Car allowance schemes or company vehicles, including the type of vehicle offered
- Sustainability initiatives and environmental commitments
- Family-friendly policies
- Volunteering Days
- Career progression opportunities
Many organisations underestimate how much these factors matter. In competitive markets, where salaries are often similar across employers, the deciding factor can be the overall employee experience rather than the size of the basic salary.
Candidates want to know what it’s really like to work for a business. They want to understand the culture, how people are treated, whether the company invests in its employees, and whether its values align with their own.
The challenge for many employers isn’t necessarily that they lack attractive benefits. It’s that those benefits aren’t always communicated effectively to the people representing their brand in the market.
Whether you’re recruiting directly or through a specialist recruiter, the principle is the same: the more information shared, the better the outcome. Recruitment partners can only promote what they know. If details around your culture, career progression, bonus structure, profit share arrangements, sustainability commitments, pension contributions, flexible working policies or employee wellbeing programmes aren’t discussed, they become missed opportunities to engage candidates.
In candidate-short markets, where demand often exceeds supply, these details matter more than ever. Many employers are competing for the same talent with similar salary levels. What helps one business stand out is often the wider employee proposition and the story behind it.
As recruiters, our job isn’t simply to match skills to a vacancy. It’s to identify the people who will thrive in your environment and be successful in your business long term. The more we understand about your organisation, your culture and what makes you different, the better equipped we are to find candidates who are not only capable of doing the job but genuinely excited about joining your team.
The best hiring outcomes happen when recruiters are treated as an extension of the business, fully briefed on everything from the role itself to the benefits, values and culture that make the opportunity unique.
Let’s talk about how we can help showcase your full employee proposition and strengthen your hiring strategy.
