If you want to attract top talent on the job market these days, you need to give job seekers a peek into your company culture. And your company culture needs to be more than just ping pong tables and bean bag chairs in the break room or beer on thirsty Thursdays. Your company culture should be about making a difference.
Studies have shown that, as much as millennials like bean bag chairs, according to a recent Gallup Poll less than 25% of millennials responded that it was extremely important for them to work somewhere that was “a fun place to work.” On the other hand, in a separate poll, over 60% of millennial respondents were more likely to want to work for a company that contributes to charity.
Here are 7 words you can use to describe your company culture that will have more impact than ping pong tables:
1. Sustainable
Is your organization striving to go green? There are a lot of ways you can work towards sustainability, from using energy saving products and practices around the office to assessing the environmental impact of your packaging.
When you make sustainability a core value, you are affirming a commitment to more than just the environment. You make a statement that you, as a company, are constantly contributing to the greater good.
2. Respect
No one wants to work somewhere that they don’t feel respected. But respect is more than simply being polite and professional.
When respect is part of your company culture you don’t only respect your employees, you also respect the things they care about. You listen to your employees and as a result, know what it is that really matters to them. When possible, you find a way to support or enable your employees to support the things that matter to them.
3. Involved
Whether you deal directly with customers in your neighborhood or work mostly with other businesses on the other side of the globe, your company is part of your local community.
An involved company is familiar with local charities and finds ways to assist them. You can sponsor events, facilitate volunteer time for your employees to give back, help employees make monetary gifts and offer gift matching.
4. Personalized
Everyone loves personalization. It’s why marketers like to include first names on envelopes and emails – we like to be recognized as individuals.
One way to recognize your employees as individuals is to personalize any perks you offer. When it comes to employee giving, the company who cares about what their employees care about will find ways to let them give to the causes. For example, some employee giving tools allows employees to be able to select the causes that resonate with them personally and give to charities they believe in and trust.
5. Balance
In a recent study, nearly one-third of employees who said their company didn’t support a healthy work-life balance were planning to find a new job within two years.
The company that supports balance understands that we as human beings need more than just our jobs to lead happy, fulfilled lives.
A company culture with balance as a core value is a culture that understands the importance of taking care of self as well as others. As Harvard Business School researcher Michael Norton discovered, there is a correlation between giving to charity and happiness.
6. Transparent
In recent years, transparency in business has expanded beyond the narrow definition of sharing all financial information with investors.
Today, the transparent company is one in which employees are encouraged to speak up when something isn’t working. It’s a company where the folks at the top listen to what their employees have to say, incorporate their suggestions, and when appropriate admit their mistakes.
When it comes to corporate social responsibility, a transparent company doesn’t just share charitable giving information with employees.
It actively seeks out employee recommendations, allows employees to determine how charitable donations are distributed, and gives to causes the employees care about instead of asking employees to give to causes the CEO or COO care about.
7. Empathetic
When you choose to highlight empathy as a company value, you are clearly making a stand against a business mentality that values the bottom line above all else.
Empathy goes a step beyond “Involved” and “Respect.” Empathy is a human emotion and an empathetic company is committed to humanity as a whole and the individual humanity of its employees and customers.
The empathetic company is one that matches donations because it truly cares about the things that matter deeply to employees.
Conclusion
There’s nothing wrong with loving bean bag chairs, beer, or ping pong tables. But these types of perks are only skin deep. If you want to truly revolutionize your company culture, it’s time to dig deeper.
It’s time to find out what really matters to your employees.
It’s time to try a free trial of WorkHERO!
{{cta(‘a67601ab-319d-467e-8100-a2ba0d006d8f’)}}
