Company culture is important as it can play a crucial factor in determining the success or failure of a business. Evidence shows that investing in company culture can lead to higher performance rates, due to enhanced employee wellbeing, higher levels of development and long-term employee retention.
According to Science Daily, “corporate culture is the most important factor in driving innovation”. So, not only does a strong culture improve employee ratings of their company’s qualities by 20%, being named a “best place to work” leads to a roughly 0.75% stock jump, as can be seen on Glassdoor.
Why is company culture important?
Company culture is of prime importance to economic success. However, research shows that if a negative corporate culture is established early on it can be very difficult to change.
Kotter’s research on this subject showed that there are two essential subcategories of corporate culture, which can be summarised as either visible or invisible. The first few years are critical to forming positive habits that determine overall success; however, change can occur later, it just requires more intentional effort to undo invisible bad practices and establish new ones.
So, here are some steps you can take to ensure your company culture attracts the best candidates:
Start from within
Focus on developing a strong, positive internal culture from the beginning. If this is something you have let slip, then take some time to correct it. Candidates will be comparing multiple companies, so they’ll know if your culture isn’t all you say it is.
So, before you make your culture external, ensure that you have it right. To help with this, you could research your competitors and use them as inspiration. What are they offering that you aren’t?
Although it is great to look at other companies for ideas be careful not to become a carbon copy of them. Establish bonuses and incentives that are aligned with your brand values, which will attract the candidates which are right for your business.
Publish your mission, vision, and values on your website
Once your internal culture is on point, focus on your employer branding and ensure it reflects your culture. Craft a tone of voice that is honest about who you are. Once you have spent some time developing your brand values, put them pride of place on your website.
Some companies can underestimate how important these statements are for candidates. Stand out by being open with what you want to achieve, how you want to achieve it, and how important you consider your employees to be.
Create a careers page
If you haven’t already, create a page on your website that is dedicated to advertising your current job opportunities, as well as giving an overview of your culture. Dedicate pages to the benefits you offer, including socials, team building, and development opportunities, and any extra packages you offer employees such as healthcare and wellbeing.
Be honest about the personality of your company. If your employees are interactive, talkative, and enthusiastic, mention this. Similarly, don’t portray your culture inaccurately. Authenticity will not only attract the right talent for your business but ensure they stay for the long term. It’s not about attracting as many candidates as possible but attracting the right ones.
Ensure your tone of voice is consistent
If your tone of voice has been crafted to communicate your company culture, make sure this is also used within your recruitment attraction campaigns. A change in tone of voice could confuse candidates and discourage them from applying. If you need to, invest in your content to ensure consistency.
Ensure communication with candidates reflects your culture
It’s crucial that your recruitment strategy is efficient, but also make sure that candidates, whether successful or not, have a positive experience throughout the process.
Invite candidates to experience your culture for themselves by introducing simple steps into your recruitment strategies such as an office tour, or meeting with ‘employer brand champions’ within the specific team they are looking to join.
If you need to apply processes to take steps to ensure that unconscious biases don’t come into play, maybe consider blind recruitment.
Develop a set of ethical policies
Studies show that millennial’s are looking to work for employers who reflect their own values and respect their community, with 86% being considered willing to take “a pay cut to work at a company whose mission and values align with their own”.
For example, the environment is one of the most pressing issues of our time, as well as being an issue millennial’s are highly engaged with. If you want to attract up and coming, exciting talent that can transform the future of your business, consider creating your own set of environmental policies. Transform the way your business runs, from everything down to recycling and power usage. As an added perk, consider contributing to environmental charities or supporting your staff with volunteer days.
Other options to consider are a set of policies to ensure diversity and inclusion is a part of your recruitment strategy or implement an internal mental health awareness campaign. Incorporate your policies as part of your talent attraction process by documenting them on your careers page.
Use Instagram
Instagram is a fantastic tool to showcase your culture. Take pictures and videos at social events, celebrations, and office perks. If you treat your staff to lunch, snap it. If your employees are taking part in team building exercises, film it.
Actions speak louder than words, and candidates don’t just want to hear about all the benefits of your culture, they want to see them in action. For more hints and tips on using Instagram for recruitment and to attract talent, see our blog.
Use Social Media
And, on this note, determine which social media channels you will use to communicate your culture. Just as 70% of employers are checking out candidate’s social media pages, they’re doing the same to you. Check out our blog post about using social media to see how you could be using your channels to attract top talent.
Your company culture is integral to your success, both economic and internal, and investing in it should be a satisfying process. It’s all about showing candidates why you’re the right company for them. It’s what’s on the inside that counts.
