How to sell your brand culture to top talent

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What is brand culture?
According to Wikipedia, the official definition is “a company culture in which employees “live” to brand values, to solve problems and make decisions internally, and deliver a branded customer experience externally. It is the desired outcome of an internal branding, internal brand alignment or employee engagement effort that elevates beyond communications and training. Everything the company does – every product or service it offers, every public statement, advertisement, website, internal policy, memo and business decision it makes must be congruent with that ethos and worldview”

In short, brand culture allows people to connect with the people in your company. Brand culture is all about people and people connecting with the faces, vision and purpose of a company. It is what you have to offer that can set you apart is your unique identity, communicated to people in the ways you present information, engage with others and do business.

Brand culture is seen to be authentic as we can look from the outside in and truly see what your staff experience. There is little marketing hype which makes it believable and relatable.

Consider these tips to sell your company culture and employer brand to future employees

  • Show don’t tell > Storytelling allows people to discover the why & the people behind the business which leads to your brand being relatable, personable and trustworthy. We have grown up listening to stories and they are what engage us as humans. Storytelling is less marketing, more engagement.
  • Set up a Talent Community > talent communities allow you to build a community of like minded people that want to be part of your company culture and allow you get to the know each other in a non threatening way.
  • Talk to current team members > your team is your biggest asset so getting them to talk about what it is like to work at your company, speaks volumes. They are much more trustworthy than the CEO or marketing team
  • Create a Brand Employee Ambassador Program > the logical extension of talking to your team is to create a formal Brand Employee Ambassador Program. If you have great content and marketing in place already, a BEAP will amplify your efforts and allow you to reach new people and markets without spending any additional marketing dollars.
  • Be relatable and show your personality > People do business with people they like – that is a fact. If they see you as being real people that they can relate to, then you go to the top of their list and they are buying into your company culture.
  • Create Job Descriptions ThatSell your culture > Job descriptions shouldn’t just list off the tasks required in the job. Include information about the culture, their purpose and do it at the start of the job ad. Tasks don’t sell people on your company, but your culture can.

It is not always about ‘Showing me the money’

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Money makes the world go around. Fact! But as human beings we need more than money to sustain us, particularly when it comes to our job and our working environment. So, if you don’t have large budgets to buy the best staff you need to look for other incentives to get them on board. Examples of non-monetary compensation include flex-time, time off, free or discounted parking, gym membership discounts, professional development, tuition for further education and childcare.

How can you win top talent without ‘showing them the money?’

Find out what drives them

What non-monetary incentives would appeal to them? We all need money to put a shelter over our heads and food in our plate, however there are often other benefits that can make up for a lower salary. If you can find out what drives a potential new team member you’d be surprised how creative you can get when it comes to ways to get them across the line. The better you know them the easier this process will be.

Be flexible

Don’t just stick with “this is the way we have always done it”. As the war on talent heats up you need to be flexible. This will be different for everyone but could include ability to work from home some days, time in lieu, roster days off, professional development, working a 4 day week etc. Don’t lose a great new asset because you cannot be flexible.

Offer personal development

Provide in house training, the ability to do additional study to get more accreditation and allocate personal development budgets each year that they can allocate to further learning outside the company are incentives that not only have a positive impact for you while the person is employed with you, but also for their career as they acquire new skills.

Personalised incentives

Everyone is different and what appeals to one person will not appeal to another. Personalise non-monetary rewards accordingly. The gym junkie would likely love a gym membership but the coach potato would hate it and prefer a membership to a theatre company. Do what works for each individual.

Passion project time

Offer time out of normal work commitments to work on projects which your staff may be passionate about but are not necessarily related to your core business. This is was pioneered by Google and also something that Facebook do and has launched some successful & very profitable new products. Allocating a few hours a week for them to work on a passion project helps keep them more fulfilled and likely to stay with you longer.

Volunteer program

How are you giving back to society? Offering staff 1 day every 3-6 months to volunteer at the charity of their choice, puts your brand directly into the community in a positive way, engages the individual with something they are passionate about, increases morale and builds a positive company culture.

Opportunities to work interstate or overseas office

If you have interstate or overseas offices the opportunity to work in another location, can be very appealing and a positive program you can put in place that is a big point of difference over competitors.

Having small hiring budgets forces you to get creative but is also means you win top talent for exactly that reason. Plus, non-monetary or intangible benefits can often be the most powerful.

 

 

How to attract and win top talent

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We live in a competitive world and when there is a shortage of talent, finding top talent becomes harder to do.

You have heard the phrase “the war for talent” which was derived from a late-90’s McKinsey and Co. study that surveyed 77 companies and almost 6,000 executives. From compiling the data, analysts gathered that the most important corporate resource over the next 20 years would be talent.

Build an attractive company culture that makes people want to work with your business.

We’ve all heard about the amazing office environment at Google right? The cool space, the free food, bikes around campus and the many other free perks that employees get. You likely don’t have the budget of Google but you can create an inviting & fun culture without fancy slides or gadgets. Listen to what your staff want and often it is the little things that matter.

Share your why and your vision for the company

Many of the talented people you are looking for now want to work somewhere that is not just another company. They want to know what is your why, your purpose, your vision. How do you contribute to society? How do you give back? Are you values aligned with theirs? A big packet doesn’t always help if their values do not align with yours as they are bound to leave pretty quickly.

Build a talent community

Having your own talent community is a great way to build a relationship with potential hires before you need them, making the hiring process simple and faster.

Find out what drives them

What non-monetary incentives would appeal to them? We all need money to put a shelter over our heads and food in our plate, however there are often other benefits that can make up for a lower salary. If you can find out what drives a potential new team member you’d be surprised how creative you can get when it comes to ways to get them across the line. The better you know them the easier this process will be.

Be flexible

Don’t just stick with “this is the way we have always done it”. As the war on talent heats up you need to be flexible. This will be different for everyone but could include ability to work from home some days, time in lieu, roster days off, professional development, working a 4 day week etc. Don’t lose a great new asset because you cannot be flexible.

Prioritise wellbeing

Workplace wellness is becoming very popular for a reason. It improves productivity, helps with mental health and minimises time off work, to name a few benefits. Top talent wants to know their employer truly cares about their health and well being  and creating a holistically healthful environment ultimately pays off in the form of company success.

Considerations when working with a recruiter

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Recruiters can unfortunately get a bad rap, mainly caused by cowboys/cowgirls  in the industry that were not professional and had no idea on how to deliver the solution they were hired for.

What does a recruiter do? In its most basic form their role is to bring together two parties – employer and employee. However, it goes deeper than this and in essence it’s is about finding the perfect match of employer and employee. This is hopefully going to be a long-term relationship so matching the right people is important, just like any relationship.

So, let’s consider what you need to look for in a great recruiter.

Great reputation

Reputation is everything. Do your research! Sure, you can read testimonials on a website but dive deeper. Ask people in your industry or network if they know of this recruiter or have used them in the past. What do they think of them? Search online for reviews or comments on their LinkedIn profile or Facebook page. A great reputation is hard to fake.

Years of experience
How long as the recruiter been in the industry or related industries? If they have been on your side as a client, then they have a good understanding of the issues you face. Experience matters as they have connections, networks, and they have refined the best ways to get results for you.

Size of company
Are you just a number at a large agency? With high targets, there can be a lot of churn and burn, and it can be all about numbers and just filling roles, regardless of if they are the right person for the job. Boutique firms live and die by their reputation and are only as good as their last hire. They have a vested role in making sure the match works. Consider your needs and if a smaller agency is better suited to your needs.


Recruiters have connections and often know about jobs before they are advertised
They have a solid network and good recruiters build long-term relationships and have talent pools to draw from. They have great industry contacts and can hand-pick professionals who may be looking for a change.

Recruiters have different specialties
No two recruiters are the same. Everyone has different industries specialties, networks, levels of relationships and ways of working. You might use different recruiters for different roles in your company because one person is an expert in legal and another an expert in retail. You cannot be everything to all people so work with a recruiter that specialises in what you need for a particular role.

Do you have chemistry?
This might not sound important, but people do business with people they like. That is human nature. Do you have some sort of chemistry with the recruiter? I am not talking about physical attraction. I am referring to that positive first impression. Do you like them? Do you get a good feeling from them?

Trust your gut
Gut instinct is important in all areas of business and this is the same when choosing a recruiter. Ask yourself, does this feel right? Do you I think this person is the right person for the job? Trust your instinct – it matters.