This year job vacancies in the UK have risen to a record high with businesses across sectors and of all sizes working hard to recruit.

One of the most proactive steps you can take when you are recruiting is to give your website some TLC. Think about it, when a prospective candidate views your vacancy, the majority will take time to research your business by scrutinising your socials and importantly, your website. With the emphasis shifting so employees are as concerned about the role as they are about the business as a whole, it is important that your website creates the right impression.

In this blog we are sharing some of the best ways to improve your website, putting yourself in a would-be employee's shoes and ensuring you are shouting about what makes your business really special ✨

It starts at home

The first page most people will see on your website is your home page and for this reason, it is important to spend some time reviewing this page. Re-read your intro copy, does the tone of voice and the way you have described your services still ring true? More often than not the home page is one of the pages that is seldomly updated, so it could well be out of date. Also, think about your greatest assets. Is it that you work with an exciting and recognisable roster of clients? Do you have an exceptional commitment to sustainability? Maybe you work in an exciting sector. By taking some time to view your home page with a fresh perspective, you can uncover a number of ways to make your business stand out to candidates.

Create a Careers page

Having a careers page on your website is one of the best ways to share your business values and ethos as well as highlight the positives of joining your team. A careers page also creates a clear area of the website where candidates will expect to be able to find out all the information they need about open positions in the business. There are lots of options for what to include on a careers page and what you feel is relevant is unique to your business. Some of the great ways we have seen clients create engaging careers pages beyond a simple list of vacancies are…

🤗 Sharing company ethos and values

Having a clear vision as a company is really important and anyone joining the business should know what this is. Including your ethos and values on a careers page will help attract talent that shares these values.

🤩 Company perks

Let’s face it, the days of including statutory holiday days and free on-site parking as the only perks are long gone. With so much competition for candidates, it has changed the dynamic with job seekers able to be more selective about the roles they apply for. This means that clearly defining your perks is more important than ever.

Essentially perks are the cherry on top of why someone would join your company. Perks can be anything from free private healthcare plans to regular staff socials. It can be tempting to feel like perks are all about the money, but that’s simply not the case. There are plenty of things businesses can highlight about their working practice that doesn’t mean splashing the cash. Some perks might be an additional day of leave on birthdays, flexible working hours or even one of our personal favourites ‘pawternity leave’ for new pet owners (we are hoping if we suggest it enough Phil might make it a Purple perk 😃). We have spoken with lots of clients who are facing challenges with recruiting and in most instances with just a few tweaks of their vacancy to include their perks it has made a huge difference to both the volume and quality of applications they have received.

👋Put your People First

In business, your team are your biggest asset, so why not show them off! When candidates are researching a business it can be helpful to put a smiley face to the names of your team and share some of their experiences too. After all, what stronger endorsement is there than positive feedback from your staff? Simple ways to do this include adding team pictures and bios and short snippet testimonials. If you are a sociable bunch too, why not add a gallery that lets you show some of the fun times you have enjoyed as a team?

📃 Vacancy alerts

You might be in the fortunate position at the moment to be fully staffed and have no open positions, but it never hurts to have a way for people to register their interest in roles that might come up in the future. A great way to do this is by integrating a sign-up where job seekers can submit their email addresses to be kept in the loop when positions become available. If you are in an industry where experience is at a premium, consider also a way for applicants to upload their CV to be held on file for when a post opens that they might be suited to.

There you have it, a few simple changes you can make to your website to make it more attractive to new talent. If you’d like to see how we put this into practice, check out our Careers page.