Developing a strong culture helps define the truth about what it is like to work at a company and will help candidates identify whether that company and that role is for them. Only applicants that are the best fit for that culture and will be engaged with the role, will stick around.
The following strategies will ensure your culture is boldly defined and provide a firm foundation for your employer brand:
- Find and fix your culture weak points.
No culture is perfect, but some are more robust and clearly defined than others. Gauge the strength of yours by collecting feedback from employees through anonymous surveys. When you know what works and what doesn't you can make the necessary adjustments. Ensure your culture is the best it can be by taking the pulse of your people; they’re the real subject matter experts. Then, make changes based on what they tell you. - Bake DEI into your culture.
DEI initiatives should be part of any workplace culture. Applicants in today’s world consider companies’ commitments to inclusion and diversity when making job decisions, so diversity work needs to be more than just talk.
Explain the actionable steps you’re taking to support DEI efforts. For example, have you made changes to your financial and physical environments, talent sourcing, recruitment, employee training, and promotion process? Your internal and external audiences want to know, and you should be ready to show them. It’s an integral part of DEI success and a key aspect of building a strong and authentic culture.
- Go bold.
Employer brands that don’t stand out aren’t worth anyone’s mental bandwidth. Your brand is an opportunity to let potential and current employees know that joining your organisation is a chance to be a part of something different.
When we worked with GVC to develop a strategic employer brand, we started by identifying the whitespace in its industry. Looking at its peers gave us a great chance to see what everyone else was saying in the industry, which was used as a springboard to create something new and unique. Tell the truth from a unique perspective that no one else will be able to replicate.