Hiring employees that fit within a company’s culture and values? It pays off! They adapt easier, show more initiative and are more productive because their external and internal drivers will be similar to those of the organization. In other words, they become true ambassadors!
What are ambassadors?
They are the people that will promote your organization. Whether it’s with the goal of pushing the sales of your product or to promote the company and its culture. Ambassadors create a certain mesmerizing quality that draws people toward you. You could hire them for marketing purposes, the so-called brand ambassadors. However, ambassadorship is much stronger when it is based on a more human approach. You can achieve this by hiring people that embody your company’s culture, dynamics, values and so on. Find and keep the ones who will feel at home and are likely to talk about you as an employer. Thereby positioning your organization as the place to be!
Why do you want them?
When your employees are the embodiment of all you stand for as an organization you will not need to create buy-in moments. Even better, they are already on board! Therefore, you can fully focus on the optimization and growth within the company rather than micro-managing the motivation of the individual employee.
If you hear your friend talk about all the cool stuff they do at work and how much fun they are having, this will stick with you and create a certain image that will pop-up every time you hear the name of organization X. However, if an ad tells us “Company X is a great place to work!”, it will be less likely not to have the same impact. People trust people.
Having your own ambassadors is of great value to your recruitment process as well, especially in a market where potential employers are trying to outbid one another. An attractive salary isn’t everything, candidates will prioritize happiness at work and company culture over time.
Note: This does not only apply for your future and current employees, make sure that the ones that leave the company do so while maintaining a positive impression.
Now how do you go about creating your ambassadors?
Here are some tips:
- The power of creating ‘moments’: certain experiences have a great impact on our lives and memory such as a wedding or graduation. They will color our memories, causing us to happily look back and share them with others. Most companies miss a big opportunity to create such a moment by not structuring, planning or optimizing their onboarding process. For example, you could have a fresh recruit start on a Friday and make the day all about them. Give them the needed goodies, tour and introductions, and end the day early with an after-work drink. They will start their weekend excited, feeling closer to the company and eager to start on Monday.
- Make people a priority: You need to invest in people. It’s not always necessary to spend money, making time for them can be beneficial as well. Even though it might not be time- and cost-efficient in the short term, it definitively will pay off in the long run!
- Define your company values: As CEO you may know all the things your company stands for. However, that does not mean your management team and employees understand this and have the exact same vision. Make sure that the vision and mission are clearly defined and shared by all team members.
- Recruitment partners: When working with a recruitment partner, make sure to clearly communicate the image you want to send out into the candidate crowd. Define your culture and translate this into soft skills. Be sure to make it an explicit requirement when looking for the latest addition to your team. And make sure that you select the Recruitment partner with the same values.
Key take-away: Your company brand should be ingrained in everything you do. Apart from your marketing campaigns, your people should be the main focus point! If they are “on brand” then everything they do will be so as well. Spend a decent amount of time and effort into creating a great company culture and a fun place to work. If done right you’ll reap benefits!
