How to promote your company culture to attract top talent image

How to promote your company culture to attract top talent

We all know that the most successful businesses are built on the solid foundation of great talent. This means that for your company to effectively meet its goals, you have to attract the top candidates in your given industry. To do this, your employer brand and corporate culture need to be a fundamental component of your recruitment strategy.

Employer Branding

The corporate brand reflects your market, clients and business and financial successes. However, the employer brand is highly dependent on how job seekers and employees perceive your company. When looking at employment opportunities, the top candidates will want to know what your company culture looks like, whether it aligns with their values and whether they will be satisfied working for you. Despite your company’s external reputation, job seekers want to determine if they can fit in with your team, feel happy and motivated working for you.

Why Company Culture is Important in Attracting Talent

Company culture is not just about crafting a unique external perception to spark an interest in qualified potential candidates. Your corporate culture needs to be a reality that aligns with your organisation’s visions and reason for being in business in the first place.

According to research by LinkedIn, potential job seekers are looking for information about available positions and company culture. Your first message or interaction with potential candidates needs to provide just the right mix of information to get them hooked on the opportunity and wanting to learn more.

From our internal experience about 35% of candidates consider company culture to be a top factor when looking for a job or responding to a job offer. Having and demonstrating a great company culture is one of the best ways to not only attract top talent but also keep them working for your organisation. We all know that finding the right fit is more than just qualifications and experience.

If your company subscribes to promoting psychological safety in the workplace, for example, you will attract top talent with similar values.

How to Promote Culture to Attract Talent

To effectively promote your company’s culture, these strategies will prove helpful and have that ideal candidate thinking “Aha! This must be the place for me.”

1.  Sharpen Up Your Careers Page

You should be well acquainted with the old tenet that “You never get a second chance to make a first impression“. Your careers page should not just be a portal for applicants to submit their applications. It should be more of a side-dish to make candidates feel that your company is the best fit for their skills and career advancement.

Your careers page should be authentic and genuine. It should also invoke a sense of motivation and respect for your company. Highlight some of the perks and insights of your company, starting with your mission statement.

At its simplest, the page should give the candidate a realistic picture of what it would be like to work for your organisation. Some things you could do to create a welcoming careers page include:

  • Create employee spotlights – For instance, if your company is invested in value-based hiring, share a story about one of your longstanding employees. Highlight how they feel happy and satisfied with your culture because it aligns with his personal values.
  • Choose the right perks – You can use employee benefits and perks your organisation offers to impress culture-fit candidates. These could be things like bringing your pet to work day, Staff PT sessions or flexible workplace arrangements.
  • Demonstrate diversity and inclusivity – Your workforce makeup in terms of ability, gender and ethnicity can be highlighted through staff photos and team events. Listing who was in attendance and showcasing the employee experience really counts.

This will help your company start off on the right foot with potential candidates. Understanding how they will add value to your business while still benefiting from the numerous perks you offer creates a win-win scenario.

2. Take Social Media Seriously

Today’s job seekers are empowered with the transparency and accessibility of social media platforms. They may have accessed your company’s information long before you directly interact with them. This means that social media is your most authentic window into your company’s culture.

Chances are that when a top talent finds an employment opportunity, they will take time to carry out intensive research on the company to determine whether the culture is a fit for them. Ensuring that you have visually engaging content on social media platforms will keep them interested and help them to learn more about your culture. You can utilise platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or even create a winning LinkedIn profile.

Some of the things you can do to boost your social media presence include:

  • Posting engaging and interactive photos and videos from company events – Whether you are celebrating an employee’s birthday, attending a conference or holding a corporate training event, post highlights of workplace unity, professionalism and culture.
  • A day-in-the-life – You could ask one of your employees to share what an average day at work feels like and post this insight on your socials.

3. Embed Your Culture into Your Recruitment Process and Beyond

It won’t be of much help in attracting talent if your company’s recruitment strategy does not match the culture you are promoting. Bright candidates are likely to give up on the job once they discover the culture you are promoting is all smoke and mirrors.

You must ensure that every step of the recruitment process is aligned with your organisational culture from the outreach and application process to the interview and job offer. The great first impression you created should be the sentiment they feel from the start to the very last step of the recruitment process. The ideal candidate should commence the job with a clear idea of who they are working for and that should be the reality as they progress within the organisation.

Here are some of the ways you can build your culture in the recruitment process:

  • Deliver a great candidate experience – How you treat the interviewee should be a clear indication of how employees are treated in the workplace. Interviewers showing up late can be detrimental and could send a message that your organisation does not hold values such as respect seriously.
  • Include a “Coffee” interview – Catching up with a prospective employee for an interview over coffee can make both you and the interviewee feel comfortable and relaxed during the meeting. It will also give the candidate an impression of how it feels to interact with you outside the formalities of a boardroom. If meetings over coffee are common within your organisation, then including a meeting like this with a candidate brings your culture to life.

corporate culture

The search for top talent is more competitive than ever, so get your employer brand strategy working for you. If you are outsourcing your recruitment process, make sure your talent acquisition leaders pay attention to your employer brand and culture. Work with a team who understand your culture, team and work environment to ensure the best fit.

For more information on recruitment strategy, talent acquisition or company culture, feel free to talk to us.

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