Jobbio’s Kirstie McDermott says a strong company culture will sure you up for great talent.
Ask five people to define “company culture” and you’ll likely get five different answers back. Those replies might include things such as a friendly environment, free coffees and team nights out, but it is actually far easier to define what makes up a workplace with a poor culture.
Employees are often able to put their fingers on problems with bad workplaces with pin-point accuracy. Issues such as unfocused or micro-management, poor processes, no training and development policies, and no room to grow within the organisation will often be the things that are highlighted.
When it comes down to it, most of us don’t actually care too much about having a ping-pong table in the break room, or trendy art on the walls. Those things are window dressings and culture is in fact a much deeper, organisational piece of the puzzle and one that must be baked in, intentionally.
A recent Glassdoor study revealed that when searching for a new job, 77% of respondents said they would consider a company’s culture before applying, and 89% felt that it was important for employers to “have a clear mission and purpose.”
Great culture not only keeps great employees with you for longer, it also positively reinforces your brand name, attracting customers and new hires. Consider Apple as a case in point: the company has an embedded, positive culture that is designed for success and as a result, regularly features in best employers listings.
With that in mind, what do you need to do to ensure that your business has a great workplace culture, and why does it matter?
Define your purpose
Be really clear about what you do, what you stand for, and where your company is going. Make sure that your teams know this too, so that they feel included, involved and are on the journey with you. When everyone is working together to achieve something great, it helps to foster a sense of community and shared goals.
Work-life balance
Look at how you do things now and ask your employees for their feedback and input on how you can improve them. In Australia, more than 1 in 10 employees work more than 50 hours a week, which is considered “very long hours” by the OECD. Make sure your people aren’t working too much – or being asked to by their managers – and are taking all their vacation days. This is a key step in helping people manage feelings of stress or burnout.
Consider also adding additional health or wellbeing benefits if this is an option. Offering flexibility on ways of working is incredibly important post-pandemic too. Bring other elements of positivity to bear: if you didn’t celebrate the wins before, make sure to do so now. Regular company updates calling out great news, company and individual successes and achievements should be signposted. The stats back it up: The American Psychological Association found that over 90% of employees who feel valued perform better and stay engaged at work.
Training and development
Between 10–25% of new employees leave their jobs within the first six months, which is hugely expensive and time-consuming from a recruitment perspective. For employees, it can be really hard to feel part of a team without the right guidance or support. In fact, 58% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for at least three years if they are properly onboarded, according to the Wynhurst Group.
For those who do plan to stick around, it’s important they have access to training and development programmes, and you should also ensure that line managers take the time to give their teams feedback as well as regular reviews of their progress. Having access to routes for internal promotion is key too: knowing that they can grow and achieve more within their jobs is so important for employees, and it helps them stay put for longer.
Recruitment
If you’ve managed to whip up the secret sauce that is good company culture, then congratulations: when you’re recruiting for new talent, a key part of your task is already done. Because culture matters to so many job seekers, it is likely that prospective hires will have done their homework. They will know your company values align with theirs, and as a result, be keen to showcase what they can do for you.
If you want to post your job to our Professional Beauty Job Board, get in touch today.
And if you’re more interested in exploring your career potential, browse all the open positions waiting for your application.
This article was produced in partnership with Jobbio.
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