COMP NEWS – As employers search for new ways to attract and retain top talent, companies are finding success by offering family-friendly benefits and shrinking away from aggressive RTO policies.

While employee benefits matter, policies play a big role, too. Despite employers pushing return-to-office mandates on their workers, many seem to be backing off: Just 4% of U.S. CEOs said they will continue to prioritize a full-time return to the office, according to a survey from DeskBird. Flexibility remains the ideal way for employees to work, and they’re making their opinions heard. 

 

“The companies that land on the side of flexible work will be the winning companies,” says Jennifer Dulski, CEO of software company Rising Team. “We already know that the highest performers have a preference for remote work and so when given the choice of companies to work for, they will move toward companies that do offer more flexibility.”

 

Employers will also need to rethink their recruiting strategies to entice employees to stay with them when they’re not contractually obligated to do so. Since the FTC banned non-compete agreements, employers have the opportunity to promote the other retention tools they can offer, be it career mobility, a dynamic culture or robust benefits.

 

“[The ban] changes the conversation away from ‘You can’t leave,’ which is adversarial, to one where employers are saying ‘We see promise in you and we’re willing to invest in it,'” says Dan Russell, a partner and organizational psychologist at leadership consulting firm RHR International. “Once [employees] see that a company wants to invest in them and work towards their growth and development, then they’re going to be more likely to stay.”

To read more about how companies use family-friendly benefits to recruit top talent, click here.

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