Your company culture and brand can have a significant impact on the ways in which your current and prospective employees view your organization. They can also work for – or against – your total rewards strategy. Since many job seekers now use resources like Glassdoor to assess a company’s culture before even applying, a strong culture and brand reputation can go a long way in sending the right message to employees.
Before you can initiate any changes to change or reinforce your company culture and brand, you must first know where you stand now. To do so, consider the following questions:
Culture
- How would you describe your culture?
- Is your culture paternalistic, inclusive, collaborative, funky and upbeat, or something else entirely?
- How does your culture reinforce the values of the overall organization?
- For Millennials especially, it’s important to work for a company that stands for something. Identifying your values and clearly communicating them is thus an important strategy for attraction and retention.
- Where is the organization in its life cycle?
- Is it transformative, idle, or high-growth?
- How does your culture come across to the organization?
- Is it positive or negative? Does it need any changing, updating, or enhancing? Are there any recent or impending merges or acquisitions, and how will those changes impact the culture?
Brand
- Do you have a brand that people want to work for?
- How would you describe your brand, and is it well-known? How does Glassdoor describe your organization? If your company is portrayed in a negative light, check in with your employees to find out why, and what you can do differently to improve and attain the image you’re trying to present. While it may take some time, even negative brand images can shift and change for the better.
- How are you communicating your brand?
Are you cultivating the brand you want and effectively communicating it to employees? How are you communicating your brand externally? Examples might include social media and word-of-mouth referrals from employees.
Shaping the Employee Experience
The employee experience encompasses all touchpoints of an employee’s time with the organization. It should start with exceptional onboarding and extend through the entire employee life cycle. Your total rewards strategy can be the foundation which supports the following key elements of a rewarding employee experience:
- Recruitment
- Onboarding
- Development
- Retention
- Off-boarding
Throughout the employee’s lifecycle, there are a few things they should be able to feel. They should feel welcomed from the beginning, that their basic needs are met, and that they’re needed and appreciated. Most employees also expect their physical workspace to be efficient and even fun, and to have access to superior technology. Finally, they must feel that the corporate culture fits their personality. While these assurances are less tangible than some of the other elements of total rewards, they are still important for cultivating a fulfilling employee experience.
HRsoft’s Total Rewards Solutions is an easy-to-use system that clearly communicates your Total Rewards – anytime, anywhere. This solution helps you retain and engage your employees by communicating the full value of employment.
