How to attract and retain the best employees in 2026

When your day-to-day is especially hectic, time can disappear in a snap… and it’s easy to get inadvertently stuck in the past. But building and nurturing a strong team means keeping pace with how employee expectations are changing – because I promise: they’re evolving just as quickly as the world around us.

If you’re looking for a quick crash course in how to standout as an employer and attract (and retain!) the best talent, you’re in the right spot. Today, we’ll touch on:

1. 1. What do employees look for in a job?
   2. How can I find and keep the best employees?
   3. How do I build my employer reputation?

What do employees look for in a job?

Early in my career, when I was interviewing candidates (or was being interviewed myself!), the two main questions were: what’s the job and what will you pay me to do it?

As Payworks’ Manager of DEIB and Talent Acquisition, I can confirm that those two questions are still top of mind, but what I’ve seen more and more is that employees are looking for a role that’ll nurture both their bank account and their soul.

They want to know if they’ll be treated with respect and empathy, if the company’s values around inclusion or community giving align with their own, how they can grow in their career, and how work will fit into their life as a whole. So be prepared to answer those questions… and to be loud and proud about who you are and what you stand for as a business!

How can I find and keep the best employees?

If you’re looking to boost your employer profile, based on the conversations our team’s been having with candidates, I’d suggest focusing on the following areas.

Community involvement

One of the quickest ways to a candidate’s heart is to show them just how much you care about the community you share. Whether you’re giving back side-by-side, offering paid time off to volunteer, or sponsoring events and initiatives that matter to your team, they’ll be proud to tell people they work for your company.

Not sure where to start? Reach out to your current staff to find out what community support opportunities excite them most – and make sure to visit our blog for inspiration too: blog.payworks.ca/pay-it-forward.

Photo: Payworks staff using one of their Pay it Forward Days to lend a hand at Winnipeg’s Agape Table.

Benefits

In January 2025, Payworks launched a round of enhancements to our benefits. In the year that followed, we saw benefits usage increase –most substantially in paramedical services (ranging from massage and physiotherapy to mental health supports); engagement scores around our benefits offering also jumped up by 10%.

Still not sure of the value to employees? One of our recent hires approached me at an event a few weeks after he started. Unprompted, he shared that Payworks’ benefits had empowered him to seek support services for his daughter that he wouldn’t have otherwise been able to access. Don’t underestimate the value of supporting “the whole employee” – especially in today’s economic climate.

If you think your benefits could use a refresh (and by the way – we can help with that), we recommend starting by researching Canadian business benefit trends, along with offerings from other companies in your industry. And don’t forget to survey your team on what changes would be most meaningful to them!

Culture

When it comes to organizational culture, candidates want to feel like more than just a cog in a machine; the
questions they ask in interviews consistently show that it’s crucial to feel welcomed as their authentic selves and to be set up for success with the right policies, tech and tools.

Flexible work remains high on their priority list – which we’ve especially noticed in regions like the Greater Toronto Area where commutes can be epic journeys! And autonomy is highly valued as well. Our very own Self Service App sets up our employees (and our clients’ employees!) to access their pay statements, submit time off requests, view schedules, update their employee information and more. Ultimately, it’s about making their lives easier so they can give you their very best in return.

Photo: Payworks’ potlucks are legendary among our team; everyone (and every dish!) belongs.

Opportunities for engagement and growth

Today’s recruits have got their eyes set on the horizon, and want to know that they’ll find purpose through meaningful, evolving work – now and in the future. So make sure to highlight your professional development opportunities and your organizational commitment to continuous growth… along with what that can look like for members of your team!

Encouraging great people to set down their career roots with you – and flourish in new roles over time – can be a game changer for your organization (and will also reduce the need to juggle the time and costs associated with high turnover).

Photo: Recent winners of the coveted ”Golden Keyboard” –the top prize in our Codeworks competition, which encourages innovative problem solving among our talented developers.

Looking for inspiration? My colleague (and Payworks’ Manager of Learning & Development) Trina Huntley recently shared some insights on our own Leadership Development Program – specifically around the opportunities and challenges a leader training strategy can provide within your business: https://blog.payworks.ca/trina-tells-all-what-ive-learned-about-leadership-training.

How do I build my employer reputation?

While getting your brand out in the community (you’ve likely seen our logo on a rinkboard or our orange shirts on volunteering staff) and staying active online are excellent ways to create visibility for yourself as an employer, the most effective tool in your toolkit is word of mouth. 

Your current employees are your most effective ambassadors; when they’re happy where they work, they’re going to tell people about it (and those folks are going to listen!). And sometimes it’s communicated unintentionally: last year, I was at an industry event where I happened to meet a Payworks client who said, “I can tell Payworks must be a great place to work because my dedicated Client Service Representative is able to show up for me in such a positive, friendly, helpful and energetic way.”

As it turns out, the key to attracting new employees in 2026 is investing in the ones you’ve already got.

Looking for more insights from our experts? Subscribe to receive curated content, delivered direct to your inbox every month: https://www.payworks.ca/landing-pages/campaigns/subscribe-to-theworks-blog.