Job markets and industries change frequently, sometimes in favor of employee talent, and sometimes in favor of corporations. Regardless of how the job market fluctuates, your financial institution will likely always need to attract employee talent. Can aspects of your headquarters help with attracting employee talent and push your institution to higher levels? The answer is a resounding yes!
Is Your Headquarters Well-Designed for Your Employees?
Pay and benefits are critical factors in attracting talent, but other factors play a role in which company a person will want to work for. A large factor is where they’ll be spending most of their time. Is your headquarters well-designed and equipped to handle new talent? Is the space aesthetically pleasing, or is it gray, and monotone? In our experience, talent is more excited to work for institutions with creative, unique designs as opposed to organizations that don’t employ those unique elements. Design and visual appeal are strong contributors to attracting employee talent.
Shared Spaces or Closed Off Cubicles? Both are Important to Your Employees
The layout of the space is a key factor for employee attraction. Employees need to understand how they will be interacting with other employees. Will it be through a modern, shared space, or private cubicles? Modern headquarters tend to implement innovative shared spaces, collaboration areas, or meeting zones to encourage employees to communicate and work together. For roles that require more privacy, private offices are still a requirement for many of the HQ clients NewGround works with. It’s all about thinking about the space, how it works with your employees, and their purpose.
Location, Location, Location is Still Important
Ask yourself the questions your employees do. When it’s time for lunch, where do I go? Do you bring a lunch from home to eat at your desk because there’s nothing nearby? Do you have to drive for miles before you find a desirable restaurant? Having your headquarters at a desirable location is still extremely important to attracting talent – even for a hybrid workforce. It’s also a critical factor in establishing your presence in the community.
“Employees should recognize your headquarters building as an already established location. They should also be able to travel to desirable restaurants for lunch, and the building should be placed in a good location for this. Our Strategy Team is experts in surveying locations and potential sites for new headquarters, and we have determined that headquarters placed in areas with attractive restaurants and entertainment nearby will have increased employee and talent interest,” says NewGround President and CEO Kevin Blair.
Do You Meet “Modern” Health and Safety Design Standards?
Lastly, new talent wants to be sure they are safe wherever they are working. Health and safety design standards can’t be ignored or cast aside; they are critical to attracting employee talent. If staff is going to be spending most of their time in one space, they should feel safe in doing so. They should know the building is designed with their health and safety in mind, whether it’s through air filtration systems, updated HVAC systems, or modern entry and exit points to prevent intruders. Rather than brush off a safety or react after something has happened, successful headquarters act preemptively, designing their building around health and safety design standards. This helps current employees feel safe and attract new talent brought in by the comfort of a safe headquarters building.
Attracting new talent can be a challenge, especially in a competitive market. Your brand is more than your building, but it is still a key foundation as you make offers to new employees.
Employees want to work with companies where they feel they have room to grow, both internally and externally. The best way to reflect a culture is to do so in a headquarters building. What does your headquarters building say about you?
Interested in learning more about other START headquarters qualities? Check out our START Overview to learn more!
How does your HQ/Main Office stack up? Click this link to answer just 20 questions about your headquarters and evaluate the state of your facilities.
