It is those companies that take the initiative with their cultures that attract top quality recruits and engaged, motivated and high-performing employees, says Robert Ordever
The graduates of 2019 will soon be on the job market (if they aren’t already), eagerly sending out CVs to prospective employers.
Many organisations will be vying over the most attractive candidates and with today’s job seekers far more selective about where they work than previous generations, it’s important for organisations to become irresistible.
But how can this be done?
Good pay is appealing but will not prove sustainable in attracting and retaining talent. The key is to develop an appealing and ‘sticky’ culture.
The value of an ‘employer brand’
A lot has changed in recent times. Just ten years’ ago, job seekers were fighting over positions in companies that had strong commercial brands.
Organisations like Mars and Coca Cola were the most appealing employers, however the focus has shifted. Companies’ commercial brand identities are now less of a draw, with job seekers now much more interested in the ‘employer brand’. They want to know what makes the company ‘tick’ and whether their own morals and beliefs are compatible with those of the company. Values, ethics, employment practices, career opportunities and how staff are treated are increasingly important factors in job seekers’ decision making.
Graduates, and job seekers in general, are now far more particular about where they choose to work. The nature of today’s job interview epitomises this as it is less about the employer quizzing the candidate and more a conversation on equal terms in which both the candidate and the employer are assessing compatibility.
More than ever, job seekers are doing their ‘homework’ on employers. They are digging deep to find out all about the employer’s brand and if the company’s culture is a ‘turn off’, then they will simply look elsewhere, regardless of how attractive the pay and benefits package is.
So why such a shift?
It’s not clear why candidates have far greater expectations of their employers than they did just ten years’ ago, but the rise of the internet and social media will have a large part to play.
The majority of organisations now have an online presence and a phenomenal 3.196 billion people are now using social media (up 13% year-on-year). And so everyone can now have a voice and an opinion. Add employee review sites such as Glassdoor and Indeed to the mix, and organisations are faced with far greater scrutiny than ever before. It’s no longer possible to ‘get away’ with poor employment practices as companies simply get ‘found out’. They are therefore being forcing to take a hard a look at their cultures to ensure they are attracting, engaging and retaining the right people.
The six key elements of an irresistible culture
It’s all very easy to point out to organisations that they need to develop attractive and ‘sticky’ cultures, but what does this mean in practical terms? The term ‘culture’ can still create a lot of confusion and is often associated with how something ‘feels’. It doesn’t help that when you type ‘culture’ into Google it returns two billion results alone.
In fact, there needn’t be such confusion as recent ground breaking research has uncovered the building blocks of creating a magnetic workplace culture. Based upon extensive global research by The O.C. Tanner Institute and involving almost 10,000 respondents across 12 countries, the findings highlight six key ‘talent magnets’ that make an organisation’s culture irresistible to both graduates and non-graduates alike.
The first of these is purpose. Job seekers want to know that an organisation has a clear and meaningful purpose that resonates with employees and it needs to be well-articulated so that everyone understands the company’s ‘raison d’etre’ and how they fit into the ‘bigger picture’. It’s no longer acceptable for a company to simply be in business to make money, this will do little to promote staff engagement, motivation and loyalty.
Perhaps one of the best examples of organisational purpose is the often quoted but unconfirmed exchange a caretaker had with President Kennedy as NASA was just getting started: ‘What do you do?’ President Kennedy allegedly asked the caretaker during a visit to Cape Canaveral. ‘Well, Mr. President, I’m helping to put a man on the moon’ was the caretaker’s supposed response. In reality, this really is what every employee and prospective employee needs to understand – ‘my role is essential if the organisation is to succeed.’
The second ‘talent magnet’ is opportunity. Staff need to be given a range of opportunities so that they are consistently challenged and engaged. This isn’t just about being promoted, it could involve providing individuals with ‘special projects’ to lead or giving them opportunities to work with people outside of their immediate team. If job seekers can’t see a diverse range of opportunities available to them, this could quickly put them off the company.
Success is also important. It’s not unusual for people to want to work for a high-flying company but of course, not every company can be the leader in its field. Whether the organisation is a small start-up or an established global conglomerate, the key is to ensure your people feel as though they’re playing on a ‘winning team’. This means regularly shouting about successes and demonstrating pride in achievements.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, leadership is key to an attractive organisational culture.
Leadership used to be about being strong and playing the ‘corporate game’. Now the key to effective leadership is about creating purpose, ensuring strategy is properly deployed, empowering people, ‘winning hearts and minds’ and showing humility. The skills of a leader have changed but not all leaders have changed with it which is why some organisations flounder. By ensuring leaders learn new skills, adapt, focus on nurturing teams, champion collaboration and provide mentorship, then the resulting culture will prove hugely appealing.
Another important ‘talent magnet’ is appreciation. The research found than less than half of employees surveyed always feel appreciated at work which is a worrying statistic. Ignoring staff appreciation can have dire consequences as it can create a workforce which feels downtrodden and taken for granted. By recognising staff for ongoing effort, rewarding their results and celebrating their careers in ways that are genuine and meaningful are vital for creating happy and engaging working environments.
Finally, wellbeing is a vital ingredient to an irresistible culture. More than ever, employees want their employers to respect emotional, social and financial needs in addition to their physical health, which means making staff wellbeing a top priority. Central to this is allowing staff to have a good work-life balance by permitting them to leave on time and ‘switch off’ when away from the workplace. Organisations that encourage long hours and expect responses to work emails late at night and at weekends, will find it difficult to attract and retain today’s job seekers.
Designing for success
With companies more ‘on show’ than ever before and workplaces proving important ‘shop windows’ for new talent, it’s crucial that cultures aren’t simply left to ‘take their course’ but are carefully designed and nurtured. And now that research has revealed the six key ‘talent magnets’ that create an irresistible culture, every organisation can take steps to improve their own working environments. It is those companies that take the initiative with their cultures that attract top quality recruits which ultimately become engaged, motivated, loyal and high-performing employees.
Robert Ordever is MD of OC Tanner Europe
