With the gradual shift in workforce trends, office location has begun to play an increasingly important role in recruitment today.  A strategically located office could be the tie-breaker for a candidate who is deciding between competing organizations. Not only does location affect recruitment, but is conducive to employee retention, too.  We’ve often heard of employees leaving the organization because of an inconvenient commute. Following are three location-related pointers that can affect recruitment –

Convenience of location –

 

A location that’s situated in the heart of the city is always preferred since it is connected by multiple modes of travel.  If your office is situated in a convenient spot, make sure to highlight this when floating a job.  Job-seekers today base their choices on a good work-life balance.  That includes having an office that offers them quick commute to their daily activities.  If your office is not located within the periphery of a city or metro, it is important that the company have facilities in place to offer transportation to employees.  Because, from an employee’s perspective, the last thing you’d want after a long day at work is to scramble for ways to get home.  This leaves little time for extra-curricular activities which lead to a fatigued and unhappy staff.

On-premises living –

 

A growing trend for organizations these days is to create mini-townships or have living areas on premises.  This works well for organizations with erratic timings or those that have staff requirements at odd hours.  Such campuses usually include perks and amenities such as on-site play areas, gyms, restaurants and cafes, medical facilities, schools and more.  A set-up like this creates a sense of belonging among employees.  It helps in building a workforce that is more dedicated towards the organization. From a recruitment perspective, such organizations are considered a privilege to work at and can attract a higher caliber of talent.

Countering location constraints-

 

Several times, companies choose to locate their offices nearer to their customer base.  This could prove to be a cumbersome commute for employees.  In such cases, recruiters need to find a way to work around the locational constraints in order to attract the talent they need. One way to combat this is to turn to recruitment analytics and metrics to fill open positions. A recruitment platform provides the insights you need to choose the ideal geographical compromise.  With features like Talent Density and Geo-location, today’s analytical tools like Talismatic, help organizations find talent locations to assimilate into their corporate strategy.  The right recruitment platforms will also help establish guidelines for future projects and offices where hiring could be optimal. For example, if there is a shift in talent density for a particular skill, Talismatic’s heat-map can point out subtle fluctuations in talent shifts. This is particularly helpful when an organization is set to make long-term investments into office leases.

While positioning their hiring in today’s hyper-competitive landscape, it falls upon recruiters to portray value to applicants despite the odds.  That is why it is imperative that right from a corporate level, companies invest in office- locations while keeping a sound recruitment strategy in mind.