We all need someone in our corner. Someone to go to bat for us, to vouch for our character and pure intentions. In the business world, you need an entire team of these people on your side—your internal team.
You might be thinking, We already provide a livelihood for our employees—of course they’re on our side! Sure, money is an instrumental source of encouragement for employees; however, company culture has been proven to be the most significant influence on employee engagement and productivity.
Internal marketing is a brand-building strategy to embrace as your company strives to build brand awareness and strengthen employee trust. Remember: external marketing efforts are only as strong as the confidence and sincerity demonstrated by the employee pitching these services.
Here are a few helpful ways to immerse new hires in your company culture to create a productive and cohesive work environment.
A Personalized Experience
The process of job searching, applying to a company, undergoing the interview process, and then accepting a new position, is a very personal experience resulting in life-altering effects in a person’s professional and personal life. Any given employee has different reasons for seeking a position at your company; it could be their dream job that they have used significant resources to finally reach; it could be a much-needed source of income after a time of unemployment; it might even be a complete career-pivot to a new industry in which they’ve been building confidence to take the leap. Whatever an individual’s reasons for accepting a position at your company are, it should be clear that they deserve a personalized onboarding experience, (i.e., not just a quick review of a one-size-fits-all Powerpoint to be reviewed alone in a meeting room). A new hire should be celebrated. They should be individually introduced to other team members, specifically noting who might be a direct resource to them throughout the training process. Have a virtual team lunch, or maybe send a company-wide introductory email. Your new hire should leave their first day on the job feeling that they are part of something personal and special.Incorporating Storytelling in your Company Culture
Write down your company’s origin story and share it often. Your employees need to know why leadership is passionate about the work they do, why the quality of their work matters, and why the primary motivating factor of the success of the business is not just monetary. The heart of most every business is the well-being and happiness of the customer—their satisfaction and confidence after conducting business with your company. Engaging with and improving the lives of other people should always be the foundation of your company’s vision and mission statements. These statements, along with the company origin story, should be regularly referenced within employee onboarding, employee reviews, company-wide email, and social apps.Employee Trust = Employee Engagement
It’s a no-brainer that the more an employee feels seen and valued, the more engaged they become with the company goals, often becoming brand ambassadors as they speak about the job they enjoy at the company that supports them within their daily interactions. So, how do you establish this beneficial symbiosis between employee and company? Communication! Specifically, creating multiple two-way channels of management-employee communication is key. New hires should be able to immediately identify the multiple channels of communication to leadership that are available to them. These channels could take many different forms including:- Regular quarterly reviews in which feedback is encouraged
- Weekly check-ins, especially during the first 6 months of employment
- Encouraging communication via social apps such as Basecamp or Slack
