Recruiting for high reliability: attracting safety-minded applicants through language on company webpages

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.

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.

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.

To attract applicants with higher safety attitudes, companies may benefit from using language that is focused on femininity, in addition to safety.