Is Your Stated Culture Your ACTUAL Culture?
As we write this, businesses are in an all-out effort to hire talent. It is, as they say, an employee’s market. And that’s leading many HR departments to crank out new and improved Employer Value Propositions (EVPs), new job postings, and doing pretty much everything possible to woo new talent.
We know how vital it is to present the right message in the marketplace to attract the right talent.
But the truth is, fancy branding might attract a prospective employee to apply for a job at your company. But if your actual culture isn’t aligned with the words on your website, then the prospective employee will find out soon enough what the real culture is behind closed doors. And that will leave you missing out on key hires or watching a revolving door of talent quickly exiting your organization.
Our suggestion: take a hard look at how well you are aligning the stated culture of your company with the actual culture.
We’ve prepared a checklist to help you ensure that what you state publicly about your company and culture is aligned with the experience your employees have day-to-day.
THE BRAND CULTURE ALIGNMENT CHECKLIST
Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
Your value proposition is the summary of why your company is a great place to work. In our experience, the EVP is the foundation for all recruitment-based marketing. Let me ask you: does it ring true within the company? If not, what should you do to ensure your stated culture mirrors your actual culture?
Your Company’s Overall Marketing
Your company’s marketing is designed to entice prospective clients to buy your products and services. Of course, you want to put your best foot forward and “sell” your company. But do those words on your company website ring true in the hallways and Zoom calls among employees? You better check to ensure the stated culture aligns with the actual culture. Because your prospective employee will find out soon enough what’s true and what’s just “marketing.”
Job Postings
Perhaps you’ve done a good job of enticing a prospective employee to click on your job posting and apply for your company. But is that job posting a mirror to the actual role? For example, if you advertise autonomy and career advancement in the posting, is your company delivering on those promises?
Check-Ins
Is your team engaged in conducting consistent, scheduled check-ins with their direct reports? Nothing drives culture than a connected, engaged workforce. And nothing detracts from culture than MIA managers.
Performance Reviews
Are your employee reviews scheduled and done consistently? (We recommend twice a year at minimum.) Given how rapidly our jobs and roles keep changing, performance reviews are a way to ensure your team members know how well they are contributing to the company, how their performance aligns with expectations, and how valued they really are.
Real-Time Feedback
Are your managers trained to provide on-the-spot, real-time feedback? Nobody likes to find out weeks (or even months) later that there was an issue with their performance. Correct mistakes in the moment. In absence of real-time feedback, small mistakes lead to bigger mistakes in the future and low employee morale.
Cultivate Problem-Solving Abilities
Our business challenges are increasingly complex. Are you taking the time to cultivate better problem-solving skills with your employees? Or, are you using a one-size-fits-all mindset to solve problems? Cultivating problem-solving skills with employees leads to fewer problems, better resiliency, and a more engaged workforce.
Address the Whole Needs of the Employee
The truth is, our home lives influence our work lives, and vice-versa. Are you taking the time to connect with the whole needs of what your employees are going through? We realize that this can be a sensitive topic, and we’re not encouraging you to be invasive in your employee’s life. But what we are saying is: make sure you recognize your employees are human beings. Honor and support them in their lives, and you will have a culture that aligns with your stated culture.
FINAL THOUGHTS
We’re all for positioning your company to attract the best talent. We just want your stated culture to align with your actual culture. We hope you use this checklist to get started on that alignment process.
Interested in other current employment trends? Click the link to view the recent blog: Labor Law Updates for October – 2021 or check back for more on human resources, payroll, insurance, and benefits.
