{"title":"Recruiting for high reliability: attracting safety-minded applicants through language on company webpages","authors":"Cati S. Thomas, L. Fruhen, Serena Wee","doi":"10.1080/00049530.2023.2195007","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Objective Job candidates are attracted to companies where they see their values fit in based on clues from recruitment materials. Safety-critical companies may aim to attract safety-minded applicants, through signals indicating that the organisation prioritises safety. Research shows that language related to safety outcomes (versus other outcomes) in recruitment materials can inform the preferences of safety-minded applicants. Rooted in theorising that high reliability organisations (HROs) are highly safety-focused and have low masculinity values, this study investigates the extent to which the relationship between company attractiveness and safety-focused and femininity-focused language used to describe the company, is moderated by potential applicants’ safety attitudes. Method In a within-subjects vignette study, participants (N = 197) rated the attractiveness of four fictitious companies, based on company webpages, and reported on their individual safety attitudes. Results Participants with higher safety attitudes rated companies as more attractive when language used in company descriptions focused on safety (and not business). This effect was amplified when the company description also emphasised low masculinity (i.e., feminine) values. Conclusions To attract applicants with higher safety attitudes, companies may benefit from using language that is focused on femininity, in addition to safety. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: (1) Language in recruitment materials can be used to convey informational signals about organisational values. (2) Person-organisation fit (P-O fit) is the compatibility between people and companies when they share similar fundamental characteristics; P-O fit predicts applicant attraction. (3) Using safety-focused language appears to be attractive for applicants who are more safety-minded. What this topic adds: (1) Further evidence that safety-focused language in company descriptions would be attractive to safety-minded applicants. (2) Femininity-focused language is also attractive to safety minded applicants. (3) Femininity- and safety-focused language work together in attracting safety-minded applicants.","PeriodicalId":8871,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Psychology","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Australian Journal of Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2023.2195007","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
ABSTRACT Objective Job candidates are attracted to companies where they see their values fit in based on clues from recruitment materials. Safety-critical companies may aim to attract safety-minded applicants, through signals indicating that the organisation prioritises safety. Research shows that language related to safety outcomes (versus other outcomes) in recruitment materials can inform the preferences of safety-minded applicants. Rooted in theorising that high reliability organisations (HROs) are highly safety-focused and have low masculinity values, this study investigates the extent to which the relationship between company attractiveness and safety-focused and femininity-focused language used to describe the company, is moderated by potential applicants’ safety attitudes. Method In a within-subjects vignette study, participants (N = 197) rated the attractiveness of four fictitious companies, based on company webpages, and reported on their individual safety attitudes. Results Participants with higher safety attitudes rated companies as more attractive when language used in company descriptions focused on safety (and not business). This effect was amplified when the company description also emphasised low masculinity (i.e., feminine) values. Conclusions To attract applicants with higher safety attitudes, companies may benefit from using language that is focused on femininity, in addition to safety. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: (1) Language in recruitment materials can be used to convey informational signals about organisational values. (2) Person-organisation fit (P-O fit) is the compatibility between people and companies when they share similar fundamental characteristics; P-O fit predicts applicant attraction. (3) Using safety-focused language appears to be attractive for applicants who are more safety-minded. What this topic adds: (1) Further evidence that safety-focused language in company descriptions would be attractive to safety-minded applicants. (2) Femininity-focused language is also attractive to safety minded applicants. (3) Femininity- and safety-focused language work together in attracting safety-minded applicants.
期刊介绍:
Australian Journal of Psychology is the premier scientific journal of the Australian Psychological Society. It covers the entire spectrum of psychological research and receives articles on all topics within the broad scope of the discipline. The journal publishes high quality peer-reviewed articles with reviewers and associate editors providing detailed assistance to authors to reach publication. The journal publishes reports of experimental and survey studies, including reports of qualitative investigations, on pure and applied topics in the field of psychology. Articles on clinical psychology or on the professional concerns of applied psychology should be submitted to our sister journals, Australian Psychologist or Clinical Psychologist. The journal publishes occasional reviews of specific topics, theoretical pieces and commentaries on methodological issues. There are also solicited book reviews and comments Annual special issues devoted to a single topic, and guest edited by a specialist editor, are published. The journal regards itself as international in vision and will accept submissions from psychologists in all countries.