Employment Hierarchy of Needs

Central Arizona Project (CAP) has always focused on making our company an employer of choice. Like so many other other companies, CAP finds itself in a tight hiring market, where candidates are less apt to just take any job, but instead hold out for opportunities that go beyond meeting their most basic needs.

Post-pandemic, companies had to adapt to a sudden shift in worker expectations. To the credit of CAP’s leadership team, we took this seriously because having a world-class workforce is the key to reliably delivering water to over 6 million Arizonans.

We began to think of the common themes in our hiring pitch. What excited candidates? What did they find lacking? When employees left, what were the deciding factors? When employees stayed, what kept them motivated and happy?

I’m not going to try and pigeonhole the responses into Maslow’s famous Hierarchy of Needs. Instead, I looked at the response patterns and realized they can just as easily be prioritized into their own pyramid of ascending priorities. Here is my employment hierarchy of needs and examples of how CAP makes a concerted effort to address each level:

Compensation: This includes salary/wages, retirement, and medical benefits and will always be the first, most basic need of any job candidate. The pay (or pay range) is the first thing they look for in a job posting. If the pay is too low, a quality candidate won’t care what else a company can offer. A robust medical plan that includes dental and vision insurance options is nearly as important as salary. Premiums should be affordable, and a wide provider network should be covered. Of course, candidates may assume decent medical benefits are a foregone conclusion and won’t ask about insurance nearly as much as they do about pay, but the presence of a sub-par medical program may very well tank an otherwise promising interview. While we’re at it, let’s not forget retirement, which also may not be the first thing that comes to mind for most candidates. In an age of job-hopping, it isn’t a major selling point. The lack of a retirement program, however, is a potential red flag.

CAP conducts market rate surveys every other year to ensure our salaries are competitive within the hiring market for over 100 different unique job types. We adjust our pay scales and budget merit-based raises from the market data we collect.

We also assess our medical, dental, and vision programs annually. CAP is self-insured, which means we can adapt our medical coverages to the needs of our employees and insulate ourselves from premium shocks that might hit the overall insurance market. This year, while many employers increased medical premiums 5%-10% or more due to skyrocketing prescription drug prices, CAP did not raise our medical premiums at all. That kind of stability is attractive to candidates and something few businesses can offer.

Finally, a guaranteed retirement that doesn’t take a bite out of a candidate’s take-home pay is an amazing benefit (cough, CAP, cough). On top of our 100% employer-funded pension, we offer an optional 401(k) with an employer match for individuals that want to super-charge their retirements.

Telework and Commuting: This wasn’t even a conversation topic in interviews five years ago. Now outside of compensation, it is the top priority for workers seeking to achieve an acceptable work-life balance (or just save money on gas). Of course, not every position is conducive to telework, but for office jobs, the lack of at least a hybrid telework program can kill a candidate’s interest.

CAP, like many employers, never had a telework policy until COVID. After the pandemic, we initially considered coming back into the office full time before allowing up to two days of telework per week (for many, but not all office jobs). This hybrid approach to telework has helped CAP maintain its footing in a competitive job market.

?Time Away from Work: Picture this, you get the job offer of your dreams, but your start date will be weeks before a major life event. It could be a non-refundable vacation. The birth of a child. A wedding. Or maybe you are just comfortable with a buffer in case of a medical emergency. You get the idea. You want to accept, but you’ve accumulated considerable sick and vacation time at your current job and now you’ll have to start over.

A major stressor for new employees is the thought of getting caught in a situation where they must take unpaid leave due to their inability to stack up vacation or sick hours fast enough.

CAP listened to candidates as they expressed this concern. Then we began front-loading half the first year’s leave on an employee’s first day. Coupled with our 4/10 work schedule (which results in a three-day weekend every week), most new hires have the flexibility they need to navigate their first year.

Other Tangible Benefits: This is where it gets fun, for me at least. Gaining employment at a company is like getting into a special club, with all the perks it offers. It can be something as simple as an employee discount or company swag, but if it ends there, it is a missed opportunity to communicate company values. If employee health is a top priority, for example, gym memberships or subsidies might be appropriate. Some Silicon Valley companies once famously leaned into ping pong tables and on-site baristas to foster a more creative environment. Employers who value safety, like CAP, provide tools and personal protective equipment at no cost to its employees.

I once tried to tally all the tangible benefits CAP offers and gave up after the second page (12-point font, single-spaced). ?But one such benefit, for which I am extremely proud, is our recent adoption of fertility treatments within our medical plan. Through our research, we discovered this was a big priority for candidates. At least a third of all families in the United States struggle with fertility issues, and treatment can be very costly despite having no assurance of success. After several years of trying, CAP launched a program in 2024 that provides assistance to any employee (or spouse) undergoing fertility treatments such as IUI, IVF, egg retrieval and storage, etc. This new program has already been instrumental in alleviating the financial and emotional burden of a very stressful time in peoples’ lives. Regardless of whether employees access this benefit or not, what kind of message does it send when a company is willing to ease a deeply personal journey instead of letting them go it alone?

Work Environment and Culture: Now that the basic needs of a candidate have been addressed, and they like what they hear so far, the work itself becomes the priority. Is it fulfilling? Is it challenging? Is there opportunity for growth and development? Promotional opportunities? Is the workplace full of toxic office politics or is individual achievement recognized and celebrated? No amount of money can prevent burnout. It is the responsibility of the organization to make sure sources of toxicity are rooted out and employees have the freedom to excel. It should also go without saying that worker safety must be at the core of any company’s work environment as well.

To assist our employees in achieving their full potential, CAP employs a training group that can coach staff on interpersonal relationships, team building, emotional intelligence, supervisory skills, etc. We invest heavily in tuition reimbursement and have a robust budget to send employees to conferences to gain knowledge and credentials within their respective fields. CAP is also home to an accredited apprenticeship program for our Crafts and Trades positions and has developed a succession-planning program to help employees plan for their next career move within CAP. Bottom line, in terms of career path options, CAP is like a “choose your own adventure” book.

So, there you have it. Every employer should address the bottom three tiers of the employment hierarchy of needs. Those are non-negotiable and likely the costliest to implement. The great differentiators, however, will be the top two tiers that, ironically, don’t necessarily carry steep costs. A pitch to prospective employees can’t completely discount salary, vacation, and telework expectations; but an organization can address those items relatively quickly. Conversations about other benefits, culture, and all that they imply are the details that can close the deal with a candidate and put them on a path to achieving their full potential as an employee. ?

Want to know more about CAP's commitment to employees? You can learn more on our Careers Page.