A good company culture is one of the most important and unique features of any business. A positive workplace atmosphere and a commitment to supporting staff in their career development are two of the biggest draws to attract the best talent out there.
Companies that can effectively showcase an inclusive and supportive business culture in a way that is aligned with candidates’ expectations stand the best chance of attracting and retaining the best talent.
But how do you talk about something as intangible as ‘culture’?
Start by understanding what candidates want to learn about your company. Your working culture could be the key to a successful talent acquisition strategy.
effective engagement is all about outreach
Good candidates want you to make the first step. According to a LinkedIn report, 90 per cent of candidates are interested in hearing from a prospective new employer and 63 per cent feel flattered when recruiters reach out to them first.
However, it is not as simple as offering an enticing role to get people interested in working for you. You have to communicate a compelling employee value proposition to draw them in, and this is where showcasing your unique company culture is essential.
One of the first steps that companies need to take is to establish an online presence and regularly update and optimise the website and social media channels. Make sure that these online platforms present a true reflection of your company’s culture. You should also give some thought as to how your messages and visuals display the positive aspects of your company ethos.
Candidates are interested in learning more about your brand. Create specific site pages to outline why your business is a great place for them to work in. For instance, if you want to be perceived as a performance-driven company, you can get anecdotes from your highly-motivated employees or high performers on their personal experiences working for a company like yours and present them in a question-and-answer format. You can also use statistics and numbers to highlight your organisational performance and drive social media engagement.
candidates want first-hand experience before they make a decision
It’s often not enough to simply tell your candidates what they can expect from working alongside you. Potential employees want to experience it to decide for themselves.
LinkedIn’s data supports this. More than half (51 per cent) of the respondents would like to visit the company and have a sneak peek of its culture before committing to join them.
Companies should conduct more face-to-face interviews in their offices whenever possible. Coach your staff to be a positive brand ambassador for your business so that they can deliver a consistent message around why your company would be an amazing place to work. Employers can also invite promising candidates to meet their staff and take a tour of the office to give them a sneak preview of the environment that they will be working in.
Promoting a strong company culture is essential for a successful talent acquisition strategy and you can find out more about how to achieve this in our employer brand centre. When you show off your company’s strengths, you’ll stand the best chances of attracting the best and the brightest talent.