With unemployment hovering around 3.7%, you’re going to have to work hard to find the best talent for your startup and retain them into the future.
Yet, as a startup you are in a unique position in that you can set your employee culture from the ground up.
This is important because building and maintaining a strong employee culture with high morale makes your employer brand more attractive to potential hires. This gives you the competitive edge when recruiting and retaining the top talent.
Let’s look at five tips to create a successful employer brand.
#1: Know What People are Saying
Even if you just have a handful of employees, you want to know what they’re saying about you and your startup.
How do you know what your employees are saying? First, you can listen in. Visit with them in the break-room. Ask their opinions. Check out their social media pages.
Next, you can send out a confidential survey. This helps you learn more in anonymous way which may mean you get more honest feedback.
Ask questions like this:
- How do you feel about the company?
- What would you say to friends and family about the business?
- What do you like best about working here?
- Are there aspects about working at our startup that set us apart from other businesses? Please elaborate.
- Are you content in your job?
- What can we improve?
- Would you recommend friends or family apply for a job here?
Use the information you gather to refine your company culture and give your startup the competitive edge you need to hire the best people.
#2: Check Out the Competition
To encourage the best candidates to apply and accept a position at your startup, you want to know what the competition is doing.
You want to be everyone’s top choice. Check out the competition’s employer branding. Notice the following:
- Visit their website and explore it to get a feel for the business.
- Check out their social media pages to learn more about their employees and company culture.
- Learn more about their benefits’ package.
- Look at their job descriptions for their open positions.
You can use all of this information to craft better job descriptions, offer excellent benefits packages, and refine your own company culture on social media and your website.
#3: Create a Video
What better way to showcase your employee culture and morale than by video?
Make sure you present a professional video that showcases not only the work you do but your employees doing it as well as having a bit of fun.
Know what message you want to portray when it comes to company culture and craft a script for your video around it. Have fun with the video and make sure it really speaks to who you are.
Use this video on your website and social media pages.
#4: Hire with a Purpose
When it comes to hiring, you want to choose candidates who are not only skilled, but who fit your company culture.
This is often more important than their education, skills, and experience. Why? If they aren’t the right fit for your startup, you’ll have a harder time retaining them, and they may cause problems because they aren’t the right fit.
To hire candidates who fit your culture, you’ll really need to know your end goal.
#5: Be Social
When someone is considering applying for your open position, they’re going to visit your social media pages. In fact, this is probably the first place they’ll visit.
Make sure you have an active presence complete with behind-the-scenes images and videos of your startup.
Do make sure that everything you post meets what you’re trying to accomplish with your employer brand.
Final Thoughts
You can use these tips to create a successful employer brand that encourages people to apply for a job, accept the job, and stay at your company.
By creating a strong employee brand, you have better, more productive talent. In turn, they’ll create an great atmosphere that spills over to your customers.
Are you a new startup ready to succeed? Are you looking to get your new business off the ground and watch it rise to success? We are here for you. We can help answer your questions and guide you through the process. Outsource your HR duties, finances, payroll and more to us. Contact Escalon today to get started.
