As the economy begins to reopen, businesses are faced with a labor market with vastly different expectations. Flexibility, benefits, and work-life balance are still key draws. But the deciding factor for the current crop of job seekers is company culture. It’s hardly surprising. With work-from-home life now the norm among almost half the nation, employees are worried about feeling isolated and out of the loop. A strong company culture gives them stability and community. Additionally, the events of 2020 have inspired many working professionals to re-examine their priorities. Where salary used to be the most important factor in taking a job, employees now want to feel that they’re part of something meaningful and aligned with their goals and beliefs.
Here’s how to ensure that your company culture attracts top-tier candidates.
Strengthening Your Company Culture
If we were to define company culture in a word, we’d say it’s your “personality.” The difference is that where personality is mostly innate, company culture is purposefully constructed – and is often tied closely to your brand. According to a Glassdoor analysis, there are 9 factors influencing your overall company culture:
- Agility. How nimble and flexible you are. Startups usually rank high on agility.
- Collaboration. How well you work together to achieve a goal. Fast food and retail are winners here.
- Customer. How much your brand is built around customers’ individual needs. Healthcare and hospitality do well here.
- Diversity. Inclusive workplaces that welcome people of varied experience, input, and backgrounds. Think financial services.
- Execution. An emphasis on getting results, taking accountability, and adhering to processes. Manufacturing and automotive companies score high on this.
- Innovation. Creativity, new ideas, and experimentation drive you. Tech companies have this one sewn up.
- Integrity. Honesty and ethics matter to you. Industry and electrical technology companies rank well here.
- Performance. These companies reward results and the staff who obtain them. Banking and financial services do well on this value.
- Respect. Consideration and courtesy are critical. You’ll find this value in consumer goods and enterprise software.
To strengthen your company culture, analyze where your company falls among the above, then ensure that your brand – and your culture – coherently and consistently reflects this. Is it clear what you stand for? How are you communicating these values? How are you cultivating and fostering both employee relationships and autonomy? How are you rewarding teams who embody your values?
Dialing in your company culture will both boost staff retention and attract top talent.
Showcasing Your Company Culture
In an interview situation, you’ll want to make sure that the most critical, salient aspects of your company culture come across. Most candidates will want to see evidence of:
- Clear goals. What’s your mission? What do you value?
- Accessible leadership. This means open communication with management.
- Staff wellbeing. Employees want to know that their needs – financial, mental, and lifestyle – will be supported.
Interviewing candidates remotely makes it more difficult to show what you’re all about than a typical workplace visit and meet-and-greet. Still, if you can recognize this, you can work around it. Try to make your interviewing process as close to your typical process as possible. If you can, an interview from your workplace or in a setting that reflects who you are and what you stand for. Be mindful of things like terms of address, job titles, and descriptions, and the tone across your communications, all of which cue candidates to feel a certain way about your brand.
Once you’ve made your hiring decisions, continue the warm welcome with an onboarding packet or welcome kit that further showcases your culture, and ensure that your new hires are actively welcomed into your workplace community. In a remote environment, this includes invites to events or meet-ups, access to helpful channels or hubs, and even looping them in on email lists that include team updates and achievements, company initiatives, and charitable efforts.
Top Talent Goes to Culture-Forward Companies
With companies scaling their operations back up, hiring high-quality staff is a must. However, now, more than ever, candidates are looking to work with brands that prioritize exhibit a company culture that aligns with their needs and interests. It’s simple: those that succeed will get the best hires.
If you’re looking to expand your workforce, make sure that the quality of your company culture shines through. Talk to the team at StellaPop to ensure that not only is your company culture strong, but that it comes across the way it needs to.
See Also:
Why You Need a Management Consulting Agency Now More Than Ever