Britt Ryan is Entelo's Head of Recruiting. In this post, she explains some key takeaways from the three events she attended as part of the Glassdoor Roadshow.
We’re still riding high from placing #3 on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list earlier this year. It's Entelo's first time earning the accolade and, as a company that doubled our headcount over the past year and is still growing, it’s been a huge honor.
One of the best perks of being ranked a Glassdoor Best Place to Work is that you get to travel around the country as part of their Glassdoor Roadshow, and I’ve been fortunate to represent Entelo at events in Washington D.C., Dallas, and, most recently, San Francisco.
I’ve been in recruiting and HR for a long time, but my peers at the Roadshows have absolutely floored me with their ingenuity and creativity. In the course of these three events, I’ve picked up a lifetime of tips and tricks from peers at great organizations like Docusign and Paylocity. No matter how great your culture is, there's always room for improvement, and hearing from other companies who are succeeding across thousands of employees and numerous global offices has been eye-opening and inspiring.
After all of the amazing conversations, presentations, and keynotes at the Glassdoor Roadshows, a few key things really stand out:
Culture takes work
Culture is always a work in progress. Even when it’s great, it takes constant effort to keep it awesome, especially as your organization grows. The best organizations continuously develop new and creative ideas to keep their culture healthy and their people engaged. Payscale, with more than 2000 employees and a Glassdoor CEO approval rating of 99%, is a great example of how constant attention pays dividends. No matter how big you get, it pays to keep your culture intact.
The best way to keep your culture current is by soliciting constant feedback from your employees. Whether this takes the form of surveys or conversation or polls, it’s crucial to keep lines of communication open regularly. This helps you better anticipate problems, address issues before they grow, and continually improve on the work you are doing. There are now numerous products that can help, including TinyPulse (which we use at Entelo), Officevibe, and others.
Your traditions define you
No organization’s culture is exactly like another’s. That’s why your culture has to be specifically geared towards your people. There’s no one size fits all way to create it. At Entelo we have a weekly Friday huddle for all employees where we catch up and celebrate the week’s accomplishments. It’s a great way to lead into the weekend and it’s not uncommon to see Entelopes in the kitchen crafting a cocktail or grabbing a glass of wine or beer beforehand. After celebrating our wins many team members stick around and unwind together. It’s a fun tradition that brings everyone together to hang out and to feel connected to the other teams. Everything we do has an impact on everyone else, and sharing these wins reiterates how interconnected our roles really are. These traditions foster the sense of community and togetherness that sustains great culture.
Everyone is a potential candidate
The candidate experience begins before someone applies. It’s such a simple idea, but before the Glassdoor Roadshow, I had never thought of candidate experience quite like that. The thing is unless you’re a global brand on the level of Nike, Apple or Coke, the candidate journey often begins before they have even heard of your organization. So you have to think long and hard about what you want someone’s first impression of your organization to be. Whether it’s through word of mouth, a recruiter, or a job board, it’s absolutely essential for your candidate experience to be consistently outstanding. Candidates who find an untailored digital presence will self select out and not even bother to apply. That’s one huge reason why tending to your Glassdoor account is so important. Whether it’s replying to negative reviews or promptly answering any inquiries or monitoring social media, proactive attention across the board is an absolute must.
Employer brand essentials
Now, more than ever, your identity as an employer is under scrutiny. Everyone from candidates to investors looks at your Glassdoor, Twitter and Facebook accounts, which means you have the opportunity to shape your image and brand more than ever before. There are numerous ways to publicize a strong employer brand. Encourage all of your employees to write honest reviews on Glassdoor, and be sure your talent or HR team publicly responds to their compliments and concerns. Create an Instagram account sharing photos of employees wearing company t-shirts or doing fun things during their weekends. The important thing is to stay engaged with your people and to give them the chance to represent themselves. It’s not just about work, it’s about how your company provides your people with the opportunity to live enjoyable, rewarding lives. People want to work at companies that support their goals and dreams. That’s the key to a stellar employer brand.
Takeaways
If there’s one thing everyone at the Glassdoor Roadshow’s had in common, it was the commitment to get better. Improvement can be challenging to track in talent, since creating KPIs for your culture and employer brand can take many of us out of our comfort zones. But that’s exactly what you have to do. Feedback is golden. Knowing where your team can improve is half the battle. This allows you to take an active, proactive approach to experimentation that helps you find the best methods to build and sustain your culture, your employer brand, and your candidate experience. And when in doubt, talk to your peers. We’re a collaborative bunch and there’s no reason why we can’t all get better together.
Related Articles:
What the Best Employer Brands Get Right
Why Transparency Builds a Positive Candidate Experience
Why You Should be Hiring for Culture Add, Not Culture Fit
