Want to know one of the most powerful tips available to help you seal the deal in hiring a new employee in this increasingly competitive talent market? Match the candidate’s vacation when he/she joins your company. A frequent comment when working with candidates who have been five to fifteen years with their current company is, “I have four weeks vacation—I don’t want to lose that. . .” Picyune complaint when we are talking six-figure jobs. Somewhere in the back of the candidate’s mind I think they equate that extended vacation with a gold watch. It’s not about the value—it’s about the recognition. In fact, candidates seem more concerned about losing an extra couple of weeks vacation than they do about losing their unvested matching 401(k) contributions.
Matching earned vacation “up to four weeks” will give your company an absolute edge in hiring the candidates your competitors are trying to hire or retain. It costs you the equivalent of a couple of weeks’ base salary for the first few years the employee works for you, because you have only accelerated his/her vacation benefit, not used it as an accumulative vacation base.
