Let’s be honest: candidates want the inside scoop on what it’s like to work for a company. This means that no matter how great your careers page is, it’s not enough. Candidates want to hear real stories and experiences about your company from actual team members. This is a huge reason sites like Glassdoor have become so popular. We can market our company as an amazing place to work, but if our company’s team members don’t contribute to the conversation, we’re leaving out crucial information that job seekers desperately want. Fortunately, a company culture blog can help fill this void.
As Talent Marketing Manager at Daxko, I’m focused on attracting candidates and making sure they get the information they need to make an educated decision on whether they want to work here. The Daxko Culture Blog consistently ranks among our top 3 Sources of Influence for candidates, and I often hear candidates and new hires mention particular posts on the Culture Blog that solidified their decision to apply for a job. I believe our Culture Blog is so successful because the content isn’t only written by me, it’s also written by many different team members at the company.
So, how can you jump on the Culture Blog train?
Give Your Team Members a Voice
Recruitment Marketing doesn’t stop just because someone gets hired. Once a team member is “in” here at Daxko, they still want to be engaged, and it’s important to give them opportunities to gain a sense of ownership and pride in working for the company. Our team members are an integral part of our culture and our employer brand. They’re our advocates, they make referrals, they like/share/retweet our social posts, and they have a sense of pride about working at the company. It only makes sense that our culture blog’s content is owned by our team members. Some ways I collect blog posts from my new team members:
- After a new hire’s first 60 days, they receive an invitation via our onboarding tool to contribute a post to the culture blog. This task isn’t a requirement, but it’s a great way to get them involved early and allow them to share their perspective.
- When a team member does something cool or reaches a milestone (work anniversary, promotion, etc.), I reach out to them and ask if they’re interested in writing a blog post to share their experience.
- I advertise the blog around the office via flyers and slides on our virtual dashboard to remind team members they can contribute anytime.
- I have a task-force of team members committed to submitting posts. The rotation is very low-impact, as it only requires them to contribute one post every 2 months. Of course, team members can contribute more often if they choose.
Guide Them With Content Ideas
I often hear, “I don’t know what to write about” or “I’m not a good writer.” These excuses don’t scare me! The people who are unsure of what to write about often just need a few good prompts to get their minds working. And the people who aren’t good writers? I tell them a blog isn’t just text and encourage them to submit photos or video. They can even send an idea to me, and I’ll write the post for them. Here are some sample prompts I send to team members to get the creative juices flowing:
- What’s a day like in your role?
- Talk about something you did to help a customer be successful.
- Interview a fellow team member about their role.
- What have you learned in the past year with the company?
- If you travel a good bit, what is life like on the road?
One of my favorite types of post is the interview/Q&A post. A while back, I had the opportunity to interview a team member who is currently our only female software engineer. It was so much fun! I recorded the conversation with my phone and typed it up in interview format. This post was a huge hit for candidates and team members alike.
Share, Share, Share!
When you have a great blog post, sharing is key! Team members get a lot of pride from seeing their posts shared across your company’s social channels. I feature Culture Blog posts on Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and team members are free to repost or create their own posts using the link to the blog. Additionally, I feature a monthly blog post roundup in the internal company newsletter as well as the monthly Talent Talk newsletter I send to our talent community to give the posts even more exposure.
If you’ve been thinking about starting a culture blog at your company, I strongly encourage you to do so! Start small, give your team members a voice, guide them with content ideas, and watch your hard work blossom! If you need any advice or direction, I’m here for you!