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Company Culture and Your 2018 Talent Acquisition Strategy
December 21, 2017 4:24:32 PM

Company Culture. There is a reason this topic has become the buzzword that it has: it’s important! Defined as a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs, which governs how people behave in organizations, a company’s culture affects everyone, strongly influencing how they act, dress, and ultimately how your employees perform their jobs. Historically, a company’s culture was merely inferred versus directly defined, but as the emphasis on having a strong corporate culture continues to increase, companies are working to get their culture code down on paper.

This is especially important in relation to your talent acquisition strategy. As a part of your employer brand, your company’s culture is something that potential employees look to when considering applying, and your existing employees rely upon to stay with your organization. The good news is that, as a recent Indeed report found, strong company culture is not limited to tech companies in Silicon Valley, but thrives across all industries.

But, what does it look like to portray your company culture when it comes to attracting talent to your organization in the new year?

Implementing Culture into Your Talent Acquisition

As an employer, you are undoubtedly aware that Millennials are now the largest generation in the workforce. When Millennials are looking for a new opportunity, one of their top priorities is making sure that they will fit in with the company culture. They want to know that they will be able to believe in what they do. And culture fit is critical for you as the employer as well. A recent survey found that 60% of recruiters found culture fit to be of high importance when selecting candidates, second only to job experience.

Leverage Your Job Descriptions

Job descriptions are a great place to start. Take advantage of the job description and use it as an opportunity to give snippets of your culture by including the organization’s mission and values. For example, take a look at Indeed’s top rated employer when it comes to culture, Nike. Nike, a brand that is known for creating products that inspire athletes who embrace challenges, reaping the benefits of hard work, uses similar language in job descriptions. They promote jobs as challenging, yet rewarding, calling on candidates to be brand ambassadors for the company. Consider performing an audit on your evergreen job descriptions and amping up your culture language.

Get Social

Social media provides a great tool to deliver and share the company’s culture with prospective employees. According to a survey from Jobvite, 56% of job seekers look to social media to learn about an employer, with Facebook getting the largest share of that portion at 28%. If your Facebook feed is limited to stuffy press releases and corporate announcements, it’s time to add a little fun. Share stories of community involvement, where employees engaged with a local charity or participated in a fundraiser such as Relay for Life. Consider highlighting an employee every month by recognizing his/her specific contribution to the company or sharing how working for your organization has impacted his/her life.

Need some more inspiration? Company and community events, office gatherings, and holiday celebrations are all opportunities to snap pictures and share on social media and reflect your organization’s work environment. This helps reinforce what the culture looks like to potential employees, helping them to understand what life at your company might be.

How would you rate your experience?

Whether shopping on Amazon, planning an upcoming vacation, or deciding which movie to go see this weekend, you likely use reviews to help guide your decision. Your potential employees are doing the same thing to review your company both before and during the hiring process. Sites such as Glassdoor, Indeed, and even Google reviews, are all places your past, current and prospective employees have left feedback about your organization. And beyond salary and benefits, they offer potential candidates a glimpse into your company culture, whether positive or negative.

So how do you help steer the conversation in a positive light? Periodically encourage your current workforce to visit a review site and tell about their experience. By intentionally requesting reviews, you open the door for more reviews and often, the good outweighs the bad. But remember, you can’t fake culture. When requesting reviews, keep in mind, you are opening the door to receive whatever feedback your employees have to offer. If you find that it skews negative, you can use it as an opportunity for culture improvement! For prospective employees, provide an opportunity following the application to review their experience applying with your company. Finally, and this may seem a little scary, consider asking exiting employees to review your company during an exit interview. While employees sometimes leave on bad terms, many leave because of a new opportunity or simply relocation, and would be more than willing to share their positive experiences at your organization.

It is undeniable. When it comes to attracting top talent, culture is key. Fortunately, from describing jobs, sharing photos on Facebook, to simply asking for some feedback, there are plenty of tools at your fingertips that can assist in proudly displaying your company’s culture.


 

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