Wake Up! How to Create a More Engaged Workplace Culture

• On average, it costs companies nearly $4,000 to fill an open position.
• External recruiters often charge 25-33% of one-year salary for senior positions.
• Companies are finding it takes 52 days on average to fill open positions.
• A new employee can take up to two full years to reach the same level of productivity as an existing staff member.
• Active disengagement costs the U.S. $450 billion to $550 billion per year.

Culture and engagement — top key trends creating talent challenges — are within your control, and it is vital for companies to focus on creating an exceptional workplace to achieve sustainable growth and positive business outcomes. In fact, 82% of respondents to Deloitte’s 2016 “Global Human Capital Trends” survey believe that culture is a potential competitive advantage. It starts with your hiring process. One toxic employee can have a profound adverse effect on your company culture. Your hiring process should focus on finding people that are a values match first and skills match second. People can learn and improve their skills with the right training, but they will not change character or personality traits to support a positive work environment.

The similarities between attracting and retaining valued employees and attracting and retaining customers are uncanny. Just as prospective clients will vet your company and perform their due diligence researching your capabilities, new talent is doing the same. Similarly, just as a new client, new employees need to be nurtured and empowered to guarantee employee engagement and ultimately raise the bottom line. This is essentially the same model used in the marketing sales funnel — generate leads and then nurture ongoing relationships for continual output.

Invest in Recruitment Marketing Do you want to hire and retain top talent? If your answer is yes, you need to create a recruitment marketing plan that mirrors the tactics you utilize to attract and retain customers. Make this investment into your team. Ultimately, the expense will pay for itself with fewer employee turnovers and more profitable engagements.

Tell Your Story Recruitment marketing enables you to tell your brand story and educate potential candidates on what it is like to be a part of your organization. From the details in your job posting to the team page on your website, leverage the opportunity to position your values, vision, and day-to-day experiences.

Ditch the Stock Photography While they may not be professional models, using real employees on your website helps humanize your company. Authentic photos are relatable to both candidates and potential clients, a win-win!

Capture the Real Experience A picture may be worth a thousand words, but video experiences allow a candidate to truly see the potential role in action. Letting your team — a candidate’s potential co-workers — describe the hiring role or company culture is a powerful recruiting tactic. Recruitment videography companies, such as Skill Scout and Video Brewery, focus on telling company stories to help you connect with the right employee and reduce time to hire. One customer claimed, “Skill Scout cut time to hire in half. They cut the fat out of the hiring process,” while another stated, “Video paints a better picture than just putting a job description out. Candidates know what the job is when they apply.”

Nurture Talent by Getting Social Much like a sales lead, not all candidates are ready to jump ship or buy into your brand offering right away. Create ways for them to stay connected to you. Consider using LinkedIn Company Pages or Facebook. These platforms allow you to nurture the relationship by showcasing culture photos, work projects and portfolios, and even causes your company is passionate about.

Know What People Are Saying About You On the flip side, unsolicited contributors also shape your digital brand image. Websites like Glassdoor and Yelp expose the world to real or disgruntled employees’ versions of your brand story. While hate-fueled feedback is sometimes beyond your control, many of these websites extend the company the option to respond to positive and negative reviews.

Enhance Their Well-Being Once you have attracted top talent, how do you keep them engaged? To start, if they feel your organization lacks purpose you will be less likely to keep great talent long term. So, define your mission, vision, purpose, goals, values, and initiatives so your employees are clear about their impact on the bigger picture. Similar to a new client experience, when a new person joins your team you must live up to your brand promise and deliver an enriching employee experience.

Instate Recognition Programs The purpose of an employee recognition program is to recognize and reward work and behaviors that support and further your company’s mission, vision, goals, etc. The MIT Rewards and Recognition Program recommends asking employees how they’d like to be recognized and involving as diverse a group as possible when designing the program. Examples of recognition include company swag, performance bonuses, or presenting some form of symbolic talisman.

Consider Nontraditional Employee Perks Beyond medical and dental benefits, employees seek companies that provide nontraditional employee perks, creating an atmosphere employees want to spend time in. Glassdoor’s Q3 2015 “Employee Confidence Survey” reports that 79% of employees would prefer new or additional benefits over a pay increase, and of employees between age 18 and 34, 89% favor benefits to a pay raise. Valued perks include: flexible schedules, gym membership or wellness programs, tuition reimbursement, lunch and learns, pets in the office, and company retreats.