Creating an Irresistible Job Offer? It takes more than just a calculator.

August 27, 2018 in HR Best Practices

 

 

We all know it’s a job-seeker’s market. The most talented people in our industry are gainfully employed, and may receive multiple offers when they search for a new position.

How do you build a job offer top talent can’t refuse?

Sweetening the deal with a box of chocolates is a nice gesture, but it isn’t likely to have any real impact on a candidate’s decision. To convince a high-performing food & beverage professional to come to work for you, you must offer a competitive salary – but that’s just the start.

So grab your calculator, and keep an open mind. Below, Kinsa’s leading national executive food and beverage recruiters share the data and insights you need to create an irresistible job offer:

Get the salary right.

We cannot stress this enough. But, offering the “right” salary (i.e., one that fairly compensates, motivates a professional to change jobs, and is still within your budget) is about as easy as nailing Jell-O to a wall. How can you determine what’s appropriate?

  • Consider the candidate’s experience. How much would it cost you to train an internal employee to do the available job?
  • Conduct an internal pay analysis. Use existing employees with similar backgrounds and levels of experience to set benchmarks.
  • Research other job postings. Positions listed on major job boards, as well as sites like LinkedIn, provide readily available data on what competitors are offering.
  • Consult with a niche recruiting firm like Kinsa. We have extensive salary-range data from recent searches, as well as actual salary data from food and beverage industry professionals.

Put Kinsa’s insights to work for you.

In this earlier post, we share food & beverage salary increase data from 190 food & beverage professional placements we’ve made. Here are a few takeaways to help you set the right salary:

  • Increase the candidate’s base salary by a minimum of 10%. Our data showed that the most common pay increase range was between 5% and 10%, and that 70% of placed candidates accepted an offer at or below a 15% increase. Offer more than a 10% increase if the candidate’s base salary is very low for the marketplace, or if they have been with the same employer for quite a while.
  • Incentivize for relocation. If a candidate has to relocate to your area, make sure you’re providing incentive for that. After all, a high performer is not likely to uproot their life and family for a $3,000 increase, regardless of whether they have to pay for the move or not.
  • Factor in cost of living. Before you settle on a number, factor in cost of living differences by using various salary calculators (we recommend CNNSperling’s and Salary.com).
  • Take candidate supply into account. Consider how difficult it is to find a talented person to do the job, as well as how long you’ve been searching. The candidate market has tightened significantly over the past six months; your salary offer should reflect the competitiveness of our current talent economy.

If you’d like a detailed salary analysis within a specific food & beverage job category, email Kinsa and an Account Manager for that category will reply.

Evaluate other factors.

Yes, pay is incredibly important to job seekers – but it’s not the only consideration. Most professionals look at the “big picture” when evaluating an opportunity; here are a few factors that impact their decision:

  • Culture. Do your food & beverage organization’s values, ethics and corporate culture align with the individual’s? Is your organization a good “corporate citizen” involved in giving back to the community?
  • Flexibility. Do you offer flexible start/stop times, compressed work weeks, summer hours or telecommuting?
  • Work/life satisfaction. Does the total work experience with your organization promote a healthy balance between the individual’s personal and professional lives?
  • Perks. How robust is your organization’s benefits package? What else do you offer to motivate, recognize and reward professionals for their hard work and success?

When interviewing candidates, find out what factors are important to them. Then, Consider ways you could leverage competitive advantage in any of the areas listed above, to structure a comprehensive job offer that addresses a wide range of candidates’ wants and needs.

Need to make a key executive food & beverage hire?

With the insights, expertise and talent network to help you find your ideal, Kinsa Group makes a great food and beverage search partner. Contact us today.