This article was published in the National Liquor News, June 2021 edition

A recent survey ranks some of the top considerations for candidates.

The challenge to attract great candidates in our industry is ongoing. Employers are competing for talent in a tight market and there is a general reluctance for candidates to move from existing roles into the ‘unknown.’ Fortunately, we are seeing a shift in confidence as the year progresses and the industry continues to forge ahead.

We recently conducted a survey with our candidates to ask them specifically what is important to them when making a decision to start a new role, and also what motivates them to leave a business. They shared some great insights which we discussed at the Retail Drinks Liquor Retail Summit in May.

There were few surprises in these results. What is interesting is that flexibility ranked as number four on what candidates look for when searching for a new job. This highlights a few things: that it’s not at the top of the list as we all thought, or perhaps it is now considered a given so candidates rank it lower down the list. Less than five per cent of respondents elected for full time in the office or full time at home, showing how important the mix is. Also top of the list in terms of flexibility are start and finish times.

There was a common theme in why people join organisations and why they leave them – culture and career development – and we’ll cover this more in future columns.

Top line results from our research are listed here with the top three factors in order.