Social mobility tips to keep your workforce happy and productive

In our increasingly uncertain era, jobseekers are looking for more than a paycheck. The most desirable roles are those that offer candidates the chance at social mobility.

Social mobility is movement between social and economic classes. A lifelong renter gets the opportunity to access home ownership. A debtor becomes able to amass savings. A school leaver gaining valuable qualifications. Whatever their social mobility goals, jobseekers want well paid, secure work. They want to develop careers and build better lives for themselves and their families. If your company culture encourages the upward social mobility of your employees, you're likely to have brilliant candidates apply.

Pay and benefits

In a milieu where gimmicks, casualisation, redundancies and low pay prevail, good compensation is a priority for the best candidates.  Workplace pool tables don't cut it: offer employees the ability to pay down debt and build a cushion of savings.  Significant and cost-saving benefits can make the job more desirable. A university can offer free or discounted tuition for employees and their relatives. A transit firm can offer free transport.  Stock options, access to private health insurance, and wellness benefits like free cycles and gym memberships are also attractive.

Meaningful, industry-relevant training and the opportunity for career growth

Firms that promote from within, offering CV-building training to entry- and mid-level employees, recruit great candidates at all levels. Offering your assistant certified bookkeeping classes or paying MBA tuition for your ambitious manager helps keep them happy and motivated.  Giving employees skills that would make them attractive to other employers demonstrates trust and respect - and, counterintuitively, helps retain them. This goes for staff at every level throughout the company but you can also help safeguard your future workforce by ensuring apprenticeships are well-delivered. These are your future managers.

Worker control and stakeholding

Social mobility also happens at the level of the workplace, community, and society as a whole.  Encourage employees to join a trade union or business network. Foster a culture of listening to staff suggestions and concerns, even when they bring up thorny issues.

If you're looking to work for a dynamic company with ethics at its heart, consider our socially-responsible, inclusive employers.  You can apply for open roles today by searching the VERCIDA jobs database.