One of the most significant challenges facing businesses right now is the impact of virtual processes on the company culture.
Even before the pandemic, one in five US workers searched for a new role due to workplace culture, according to a 2019 report from SHRM. Transitioning to a remote workplace has the potential to upset the employee experience.
Not only can virtual processes hinder a positive company culture, but according to our recent survey, many job seekers agree virtual interviews make it harder to assess the company’s culture. Additionally, more than half stated this is enough reason to turn down a job offer.
Recruiters must clearly illustrate their culture for new candidates to ensure they accept the job offer. Here are five times to make your company culture a focus during your virtual recruitment process:
Before the Application
You can start to sprinkle in access to your company culture before job seekers even apply to your open positions. Use recruitment marketing tactics to showcase a day in the life of a medical sales rep at your company.
Gather employee testimonials, photos, and videos to share on your company’s social media channels and website. Provide an exclusive “behind-the-scenes” look at what your employees love about their jobs and how they’ve handled the transition to working virtually.
Additionally, highlight key trends from your employee testimonials within your job postings themselves. In addition to explaining the responsibilities of the role, describe the team and company culture too.
Before the Interview
Remember, you still need to win over job candidates even after they’ve applied. Company culture becomes more important the further a candidate gets into the hiring process.
When you reach out to a candidate to schedule their first interview, send them tailored messaging to increase their excitement. For example, send them specific employee testimonials that feature employees on the team they’re interviewing.
During Interview
Think about all of the ways you’d showcase your company culture when a candidate came to your office for an in-person interview. Now it’s time to translate those tactics into virtual alternatives.
Give candidates a peek inside your remote workplace by offering a virtual introduction to your team before you dive into the interview. Allow them to meet-and-greet with team members at different levels, alongside whom they’d be working.
Be transparent with the ways your company culture has changed during 2020 as you switched to a remote environment. It’s a change that all companies have experienced, so job seekers will not be shocked to hear any challenges you might have faced during the transition.
Before the Offer
This is your last chance to win a candidate over and get them to accept your job offer. After they’ve interviewed, perhaps in response to their thank-you note, follow up with additional personalized materials for them to view.
Take note of what they responded to during the interview, and highlight videos, articles, or other materials that show they’ll fit into your company culture. For example, if the candidate was excited to hear about your employee resource groups, share a video from a recent meet-up they hosted.
Use this email as your last chance in the candidate experience to show that your company culture will work for them.
During Onboarding
Even though a sales rep has accepted your offer, you still need to find opportunities to prioritize company culture during the onboarding process.
Ensure your new hires spend about half of their first week getting to know the workplace rather than the workload. Set them up with meet-and-greets with various team members. Treat them to lunch on their first day by sending a food delivery gift card. Schedule time for team bonding to help them feel welcome.
Your new hires must feel included and valued right away to ensure they are happy at work. For true success, infuse your company culture at every step along the way.
