Attracting quality candidates can be difficult for any career in any location. Unfortunately, despite the financial and individual benefits of some of these locations, rural opportunities often face a much harder sell.
While money is always a good incentive for driven candidates, that is not always an option for companies to employ. So how else can you make your rural job offer seem more enticing to the right candidates? Start by checking out our top 3 creative ideas below:
Benefits and PTO
Benefits and Paid Time Off plans are great ways to show your employees that you care without breaking the bank. Benefits and healthcare coverage that is provided by an employer can be an enticing offer for incoming candidates. While it is not money up front, like one would see with a relocation or sign-on bonus, it is still money that goes directly into your employee’s pocket.
An offer such as this is also a wonderful way to show candidates that you genuinely care for your employees and their wellbeing. Employees are looking for benefits that better their overall quality of life, so companies should look into both short and long-term efforts. For short-term, think about complete and comprehensive healthcare insurance coverage, vacation time and holidays, and mental health days. Long-term efforts are more likely to fall in line with matched 401K contributions, retirement plans, or rewards that grow with an individual’s tenure.
Paid Time Off is often a huge appeal for people relocating to remote areas because it allows them to feel less trapped in a new and unfamiliar area. The ability to take time off and explore the local communities or visit a more familiar setting that might be further away than a weekend trip would warrant can be a necessity for some incoming candidates. The offer lets their concerns about living in an unfamiliar rural area feel heard and addressed in a way that is genuinely beneficial.
Education and Advancement
Education and advancement are common reasons to take a job opportunity. The ability to grow in a career without using your own money is an incredible benefit for many dedicated professionals. A great way to encourage the cream of the crop to relocate to a rural location is to offer opportunities for professionals to better themselves, such as tuition reimbursement plans.
Groups like the National Health Service Corps have made great strides in creating programs that help clinicians go to school while working without breaking the bank. They cover multiple specialties of medical practitioners and offer varying plans for full-time and part-time professionals. Companies that are interested in encouraging continued education for the medical personnel should look to connect with groups such as this.
Advancement opportunities can be another enticing offer for candidates. A title advancement can be a driving force for an incoming candidate, as the work they are doing in other locations may qualify them for a better title and quality of life in a rural location.
Keep an eye on the market for the desired title and figure out what a reasonable pay would be based on the cost of living for the proposed location. If the rural areas are more affordable, than you might be able to offer candidates a chance for an equal or better financial standing overall.
Childcare
Childcare can be a make-it or break-it for many professional parents. Local schools are always a factor for parents with school-age children, but, while that is something to consider, it is not something that you can control. Providing free childcare, especially in-house, is a great way to bring comfort and security to parents who need to balance their professional careers and their childcare needs.
The additional benefit of in-house childcare comes from proximity. Especially for new parents or parents with very young children who are transitioning back to work, an in-house area for them to bring their children can make their schedule more flexible and ease comfort about leaving their kids in the care of others, considering they can check on them as necessary without leaving work.
While these are not the only creative solutions available, they are a great way to get started on brainstorming. Rural areas certainly have their own appeals, but encouraging new candidates to relocate needs to be about more than just the local foods and varieties seen in rural life. By employing some of these ideas, rural companies can create enticing and inviting job offers.
If you are looking for help from an experienced professional, then reach out to us here and we will connect you with a specialized and dedicated recruiter. Radius Staffing has a proven track record for finding the right candidates for all kinds of healthcare opportunities, so connect with us today so we can get started!
