6 Ways to Shine a Light on Your Company Culture

That's not a valid work email account. Please enter your work email (e.g. you@yourcompany.com)
Please enter your work email
(e.g. you@yourcompany.com)

Man holding a small but powerful led flashlight  There is no doubting the idea that great company culture attracts top talent. Just look at employer brand super powers like Google, Apple, GE, etc., where job seekers apply to their business not just because they have seen a job vacancy, but often on the pure basis that they want to be part of the great company culture.

But, it’s not enough to just build a great culture you need to communicate it to the marketplace to create the full magnetic effective, which is something that these employer super brands (with equally powerful company brands) do almost effortlessly. But, how can smaller, less well known employer brands (and company brands), communicate this great culture they have created to job seekers in order to fully exploit/leverage its powerfully magnetic effect?

1. Highlight your personalities

One of the best ways to communicate your company culture is to have fun and engaging employee profiles on your careers and company site that reflect individual personalities, interests, ethos, ways of working, etc. Your current employees can in fact be great advertisements for your company culture and employer brand. Try and include a cross section of employees from across the business to ensure a more authentic depiction of your culture.

2. Blog about life in the firm

Encourage your most engaged and engaging employees to regularly contribute to your company ‘s “Life At XYZ Company Blog.” Ideally, they should be blogging about social events, business successes, team events, new clients, projects, new staff, their own hobbies and anything that gives an ongoing impression of life at the firm. Include a range of bloggers from different departments and who represent a cross section of the diversity in your firm.

3. Video Diaries

YouTube is the third most trafficked website in the world and the second largest search engine behind Google, which means that preparing employer branding video diaries will represent an incremental marketing channel to text pages. Develop quality employer branding videos that reflect the most positive aspects of your culture,  incorporating humor and authenticity, which are the two touchstones of magnetic employer branding videos.

4. Allow live or scheduled chat exchanges between job seekers and employees

We live in a culture of instant gratification. Why not install live chat software on your website and set up a chat room or meeting room where job seekers can engage with key personalities in your business at designated times? Invite job seekers to ask questions about jobs, departments, interview process, life at the business, etc. This is another effective way for you to communicate your culture to the marketplace.

5. Show how you work

Put together case studies of some of your most successful projects that outline the most positive aspects of your culture, which may be great teamwork, business ethics, social responsibility and just all round effective working. Everyone wants to work in an engaging and supportive team environment that gets results. Outline some of your most successful team projects as case studies.

6. Turn your employees into brand advocates

Incentivize employees to put the word out amongst their networks about your great culture and new vacancies by establishing an employee referral program where employees receive rewards for recommending talented candidates to the business. This is one of the most effective ways to transmit your company culture message as countless studies show that employee referrals are the no. 1 source of hire.

By Kazim Ladimeji