What makes some employers more attractive than others?

Why do people want to work for some companies more than others? Is it the pay rate or the people around them, or is it more about the company’s image?

LinkedIn recently released a list of organisation’s down under that have the best abilities to attract and retain employees. While there is obviously a range of features that keep employees feeling at home in their jobs, without human resources training, it can be difficult to know what will work best. So what can some of the Australia’s most coveted employers teach you about creating a company that people will line up to work in?

PwC: Flexible working hours are in demand

The multinational accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was ranked second best. Fully transitioning to flexible working hours last year, employees now are able to customise their own schedules completely, rather than having to plead hopelessly for versatility. According to LinkedIn, some workers cram their five day week into four extended days, while others choose to break up the office hours by working from home.

Coles: Employee discounts and branding help

It may surprise some employers that a supermarket chain has ranked amongst the best of the best. But Coles compelling employee benefits and strong consumer brand attract a huge amount of talent. With major staff discounts, Coles told LinkedIn that it receives well over 400,000 applications a year.

Westpac: Valuable benefits are hard to disregard

Coming in at sixth place, Westpac’s mission is tightly linked to it’s focus on nurturing and developing staff. To hold on to them, an innovative approach to their office space and truly valuable perks (such as mortgage discounts and almost three months of additional annual leave), Westpac understands what its employees need and knows that delivering it to them will be beneficial for the company over the long-term.

Learning how to deal with constant change and trends of short tenures, organisations should be figuring out exactly what they need to truly satisfy employees.