Smart Moves to Attract Smart Women
/Unemployment numbers are at a 14 year low, we are seeing growth across a variety of markets, and the question has become not only how to identify the top talent, but how to attract them in a more competitive marketplace. Small business and large organizations alike have adopted everything from napping pods to allowing employees to work from home in order to accommodate employees and entice talent.
The latest trend in attracting the very best talent is catering to the more underserved, yet quickly becoming the better educated and longer working gender. Women have for far too long been underappreciated, undervalued, and underpaid, yet as the marketplace turns we see the smart companies making smart moves to ensure they are attracting women.
Here are a 3 smart moves to attract smart women to your business.
- Provide financial education and investment options at work.
While no one is suggesting you offer investment advice to your employees, most companies do provide investment opportunities through retirement plans. Considering that the institutions that provide these plans also offer a variety of financial education tools and investment options, a savvy employer can minimize the cost of providing his employees with some very advantages tools.
Women live longer and save more than men on average, so focusing on providing solid investment and retirement options and education is attractive to smart, professional women.
- Identify your salary gap...and fix it.
I read an article in Fortune last fall and it blew my hair back a bit. Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, found a salary gap within his organization of $3million, and then he fixed it. Yeah, you read that right, he fixed it. He spent $3million to bring the salaries of female employees up to their male counterparts. It might seem like a lot of money, but it resulted in a ton of great press and should attract tons of smart talent.
Salesforce isn't alone, GoDaddy, and Pricewaterhouse both released publically pay gap issues in an attempt to confront the issue. If you want to attract smart women, respect them enough to pay them what they deserve, and respect the women that you currently work with by ensuring they are being paid fairly.
- Provide time off for new parents...it will save you money!
Maternity leave is a must if you hope to attract women that plan on having a family. Family has been known to provide security and stability, creating more sustainable employees. In addition, retaining talent by offering maternity leave results in substantial savings in the long run as well. A new mother that feels forced to return to work too soon after having a child will often quit her job. The cost of recruiting, hiring, and training a replacement is often times much higher than bringing in a contractor to help with the work load and offering some paid time off. Despite this, only 12% of US companies provide paid parental leave.
As 2016 provides us with opportunities to rise to other levels, lets keep our eyes on the prize and do whatever we can to build our teams with the very best talent.
