Competition for top talent out there is fierce, and in this job market, you need to find any way to edge out the competition.
A study from Glassdoor said 77% of adults considered a company’s culture before applying there and 79% would consider their mission and purpose before applying.
THE SAME STUDY FROM GLASSDOOR ALSO FOUND THAT EMPLOYEES PUT AN EVEN GREATER EMPHASIS ON CULTURE THAN PAY WHEN CONSIDERING WHERE TO GO TO WORK NEXT.
So your company’s culture is one of those things that set you apart from your competitors. Your culture is the values, attitudes and beliefs that make your company unique, and it can be a valuable tool for recruitment.
In the same way, you are analyzing job candidates to make sure they are the right fit for your business, candidates are analyzing you to make sure your culture aligns with their values.
What is your company culture?
Your culture is the shared values and expectations of your leadership and all of your employees. This is what drives your business and the reason things are done the way they are.
Culture can be tangible — think dress code, the way your office is branded and the furniture you sit in— or intangible. Those intangibles are a bit harder to define.
The intangibles can be:
- Company vision: What does your leadership say about the future of your business?
- Your values: Are they clearly defined?
- Employee engagement: Do your employees get along? Do they spend time with each other outside of work?
The way you treat your employees helps both with retention and adding new team members.
Culture and recruitment
Regardless of the job you recruit for, you need to be able to attract top talent and retain employees.
Here are some ways company culture actually helps how you recruit:
1.) Culture creates excitement: What matters most to leadership? Where are their priorities? Take time to think these things through and then talk about them often. Use your website to highlight your culture, talk about culture on social media, post photos of events and recognize employees for their accomplishments. Post about your culture often and make sure people have a firm grasp on what’s important to your company. This creates buzz and excitement and makes people want to work there.
2.) Employee referrals: Employee referrals are one of the most useful tools in recruiting. Employees are likely to refer people looking for a job and can aid in recruiting passive candidates, too. Your employees are your company’s best asset, and employee referrals are one of the best ways to recruit.
3.) Culture > Pay: It’s no surprise that salary used to be the deciding factor in whether or not someone elects to take a job, but the same isn’t necessarily true anymore.
Potential recruits have high expectations of their prospective employers. If you need help developing a strategy for improving that culture, we would love to assist you.
