What makes your offer stand out when hiring Data & Analytics talent?

Hiring the right talent in such a candidate short market is often the hardest job you will undertake. Alongside salary, which remains a key driver, other factors now influence a candidate’s decision such as work-life balance, career development opportunities and company values.

Dan Lewis, who heads up the Digital Analytics practice at Harnham, offers advice on how to construct and execute your offer to ensure the best chance of securing top talent for your teams.

1. Flexible working

One of the most sought after perks you can offer, especially for mid-senior level individual contributors. It’s rare for companies to offer flexible working as a contractual benefit, however if assurances are made from the start that there is no issue to work a day or two at home, depending on the diary, then candidates tend to become more open to flex in other areas, such as salary or commute. By offering flexibility, you’re also telling your potential
employee that you’ll offer them trust, autonomy and treat them as an adult from day one. It also shows a certain degree of empathy, in allowing your team to have an uninterrupted day to get their head down and deliver for you, out of reach of needy stakeholders.

2. Negotiable bonus / package

Every member of your team will have their own needs. Some will be all about the money (nothing wrong with that) or some will care more about planning for the future and their pension. Some will be risk adverse, preferring to bank a higher base whilst others will be motivated, and work harder, if given higher bonus potential and even kickers based on personal performance. If you can offer flexibility to increase or decrease a bonus in exchange for basic salary, to flex on pension contributions and additional benefits you’ll be able to widen the net. Especially useful when you have a hard-to- recruit requirement!

3. Training

This might seem a bit obvious, but if you show willing to invest in people early on, they will be more likely to want to work for you. Companies who proactively look to challenge their staff, enabling them with training courses and exposing them to new scenarios are deemed more attractive. It’s very easy to “fill a gap” when hiring, which may well solve your problem by adding that much needed skillset into the team however remember that they want to progress too. You’re gaining their skillset, which they’re coming to the business with already, so what can you give them?

4. Interview process

Increasingly, candidates (especially in analytics) have multiple career options. They therefore judge a company on their interview process. Aside from the bond with the line manager, the offices, the responsibilities etc. it’s important to show conciseness in decision-making, to offer well, 1 st time around to avoid drawn out negotiations over fine points. Candidates do notice this. They also notice when a hiring manager, or team, have been flexible and
empathetic to their current circumstances. For example, if you’re recruiting for an urgent role, and have a great candidate who’s run out of holiday, then see them after work, or arrange a call with them to gauge fit and gain buy-in.

I appreciate that there’s no fool-proof “how to hire” guide, but more and more we see that companies who recruit with flexibility and empathy tend to get the candidates they want, over those with rigid, drawn out and bureaucratic interview processes.

Dan Lewis
Manager of Digital Analytics at Harnham
+44 20 3587 7521
daniellewis@harnham.com