Is Your Company Culture Repelling Talent?

In an era of skill shortages, finding the right talent is becoming increasingly difficult for almost every sector.  If you want to attract and retain the best employees for your business, then the first thing you need to do is finding out what matters to your potential hires. 

Interestingly, the managers who still think that higher salaries will draw in more candidates are the ones most likely to be disappointed. On the other hand, if you focus on promoting company culture and “fit” when advertising your new roles, then you should capture the interest of some of the most skilled specialists in your profession.  

Today’s job applicants are looking for organisations that stand by the goals, and promise a good experience for all team members. If you can use your culture to give staff exceptional job satisfaction, then you can both recruit, and retain the top performers you need to grow.  

What is Your Company Culture? 

Before you can use culture as a magnet for expertise in your industry, you need to identify what the term means to you. While the word “culture” isn’t easily expressed or defined, it primarily refers to the force that drives the actions of your people. It’s the collection of ideals and techniques that emerge when an organisation refines its mission statement, shared values, and shared practices into a guideline for work.  

Because company culture creates a unified spirit within a brand, it can be essential to predicting the success, or failure of any hire. What’s more, it also has the potential to drive away talent who feel they won’t fit well with your existing atmosphere.  

While culture can be influenced by many things, it’s usually driven by executive employees and managers, because they are the ones responsible for making strategic decisions on behalf of the business.  

So, how can the leaders in your organisation transform culture into something that delivers the most impressive candidates to your talent pool?  

1. Demonstrate Your Culture in Recruitment Processes

Attracting people to your brand using “culture” means showing off your brand personality in everything you do. For instance, you might use social media to put your culture on display through employee advocacy programmes and staff-generated content. You can even encourage team members to refer people from their social network to your hiring manager based on cultural fit.  

When you write a job description, make sure that alongside requirements for things like education, and experience, you include a brief insight into what you’re looking for in an applicant’s personality. Are you searching for someone who works well in a team or someone that cares about the environment as much as you? Share some examples of what makes you unique.  

You can even speak to a professional recruitment company about how they can help you find candidates based on cultural requirements.  

2. Show Culture in Your Interview Practices

Once people begin to show interest in your business, you’ll need to make sure that you continue to offer glimpses into your unique personality, working environment, and office practices during the interview procedure.  

For example, rather than just asking fundamental questions when talking to a millennial employee, give them a chance to show off their skills with a quick online test. Alternatively, you can allow the most qualified candidates to walk around your premises and get a feel for the way things work on a day-to-day basis.  

If you’re convinced that you’ve found the perfect potential hire, introduce them to some of the people they’ll be working with – such as a supervisor or a team manager. Taking this immersive approach to interviewing shows off your culture, while making the onboarding process more straightforward at the same time.  

3. Leverage Case Studies and Testimonials

One of the great things about company culture is that if yours is right, you can rest assured that your staff won’t hesitate when it comes to helping you recruit new talent. Whether it’s referring potential employees to social media and online platforms, or simply sharing their insights through case studies and testimonials, your existing team members might be your best tool in the search for skills.  

Ultimately, no matter how well you promote your culture both online and in person, today’s job-seekers are unlikely to take your word as gospel. Instead, they’ll search for evidence of your achievements in the form of reviews, videos, and business white papers.  

Publishing case-studies and testimonials is a great way to answer critical questions your candidates might have while putting their mind to rest on things like the cultural fit. At the same time, this social proof will help you appear more transparent and trustworthy, which may earn you the respect of younger specialists.