A lot of companies don’t think about their company culture. It’s no surprise when they have clients, employees, future and current projects to worry about. But culture can be hugely impactful in all of these areas. So by reading this article, you’re taking your first (and crucial) step to using your company culture to bolster your recruitment.

The reality of a “company culture” can mean vastly different things to people at different levels in an organisation. For a junior executive at an agency, a collaborative culture could mean feeling comfortable going to their manager for support. But to a Head of Digital Marketing, it could mean different digital departments collaborating cohesively to achieve client satisfaction.

So we’re going to help you define exactly what company culture is, why it’s crucial for your business, and how you can implement it to support your employee attraction.

What is Company Culture

A company culture is a shared set of values, attitudes and principles that summarise your business. These are often based on the founding principles of the business, and can affect every business decision the company makes.

“A lot of candidates and clients just think of company culture as purely a social environment. Have a laugh, go out and have food and drinks after work, and become friends with the people that they work with.

However, by having that kind of “culture”, you can alienate some people who maybe don’t drink for various different reasons. Or people who have outside commitments, such as children, which means they can’t stay late for drinks after work every Thursday. 

But company culture means more than just the social aspects of managing a business and a team. It has an impact on the way your team works and business decisions all levels.

For me, the culture you should focus on building and where it can mean a lot more than just after work drinks, is in areas such as how much you trust your employees. How do you instil really positive attitudes in your employees to the work that they’re doing? This is where company culture is most effective.”

Alexis Wilkie, Managing Consultant of Herd Digital

Here at Herd we’re a Specialist Digital Marketing Recruitment Agency. Which can have a huge impact on our company culture. We’re a financially focused business in a competitive environment: Which means going above and beyond for our clients to beat the competition, and being experts in our industry.

Why Is Company Culture Important?

92% of senior executives say that company culture is one of the top three drivers of the value of their businesses. That’s an incredibly high number of top level decision makers that consider their carefully curated company culture as one of their most valuable assets.

This is because having an established and defined company culture can have on your recruitment and staff retention efforts.

1. First and foremost, giving candidates an accurate idea of your company culture is a great way to attract the kind of employees you want at your company.
   If you’re a Performance Marketing Agency that works in the sports industry and occasionally get free tickets to events from clients? Talking about that on social media is a great way to attract performance marketers who are passionate about working in your niche market. 

2. Secondly, it helps stop you from hiring the wrong people. People who won’t be happy in their role and won’t perform as well as the other members of your team. This is likely to even cost you time and money to replace them when they leave.

3. Thirdly, it will mean your team enjoys working with their colleagues more and reduces employee attrition. Columbia University found that the likelihood of job turnover at a business with a strong company culture is 13.9%. Compared to the likelihood of job turnover at a company with a “weak” company culture, 48.4%.

Examples of Company Culture And Its Impacts On Your Business

Company culture can be difficult to define and even harder to envision in. So here are some examples of how a company culture can look in reality.

How It Can Impact Your Team

“Some agencies we work with have a culture of doing whatever they need to for their clients, regardless of the impact it has on the team’s wellbeing. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing, because if people are money motivated and are willing to sacrifice for their careers, then good luck to them. 

Some of our other clients have a complete opposite culture, where they put the people before their profits. They believe that if they look after their staff and ensure they have a good work life balance, then they can focus on their work better, and their profits will look after themselves.”

Alexis Wilkie, Managing Consultant of Herd Digital

These are two polar opposites and there’s no right or wrong approach. It all depends on the kind of company culture you want to build for your business.

How Company Culture Impacts The Everyday 

Here at Herd, our Recruitment Consultants work collaboratively to support development of junior consultants and offer the highest level of service we can for clients and candidates. This is reflected in the physical layout of our office, with an open office plan and breakout rooms for teams to collaborate in.

And as a recruitment agency we are an output focussed business. Our team is measured on their tasks completed, not on the time spent behind their desks. We work in a hybrid working environment, because we trust our Recruitment Consultants to get their work done regardless of location.

How Company Culture Impacts High Level Business Decisions

Outdoor clothing company Patagonia has described itself as an “activist company”. It demonstrates this by donating profits to environmental groups and sources production materials from sustainable and responsible sources. In recent news, founder Yvon Chouinard gave the company away, with all future profits of the company being donated to charity. 

While this is an extreme example, it demonstrates how the founding principles and company culture can affect business decisions at the highest levels.

How To Build A Company Culture That Attracts Employees

The first step to building your company culture is asking the questions that help identify the company culture you want. What is it your company does and why do you do it? How does it benefit your business, your staff and your customers? 

Once you define those values, they need to be embedded in the company. Not just something you put on the office wall or on the website. You need to hold everyone, including yourself accountable. 

Are you creating a culture where the individuals in your team are accountable for their own workload? But a member of your team consistently fails to deliver their work on time and don’t seem to care about it? Then they may not be a right culture fit for your business.

And your company culture should be incorporated into your hiring process moving forward. Because if you are creating a company culture you believe in, you need to hire people that will support it.

Do you want a financially motivated culture which rewards people going above and beyond? Then you need to create a financially rewarding commission structure that will incentivise that. After all, the people you want to attract will be money motivated and hard-working.

“When it comes to hiring, I always communicate to potential employees what our company culture and values are, why we have those values and what the benefits of these are to our employees. Your company culture should be explained clearly to recruiters that you work with, to people who visit your careers page, or even people who just go on your company Instagram.”

Alexis Wilkie, Managing Consultant of Herd Digital

How To Show Off Your Company Culture On Social Media

Speaking of company Instagram, your social media is an important tool in your recruitment arsenal. Posting about your company culture is a great way to attract new clients and quality employees. By offering them a window into your company that you control, you can highlight the best of your company.

Shout About Your Company Events

You should be using your company social media to shout about the events that happen in your company. Is your team given time off to attend a training day or for a company sponsored day out? Do you celebrate big company wins or even just celebrate people’s birthdays as an office? Then shout about it! Posting photos or videos gives potential employees a behind the scenes view of your company. And it shows that you’re proud of the work you do, and the team who does it.

“Employee Spotlights” or “Get To Know The Team” Style Posts

If someone is considering joining your company, a place they are likely to check out your social media. Being able to “meet” the team beforehand gives them an insight into the people they will be working with. And your employees talking about how great your company is to work for can sway considering applicants.

Celebrate Your Team’s Achievements

Shouting about the achievements of your employees is a great way to show that you genuinely care about your employees. These achievements could be a massive number of things: celebrating an employment anniversary, a recent promotion, employee of the month award or recent even great feedback your team have received.