A recent article from the BBC stated that salaries rise as companies hire more graduates – however it’s not the salary that is grabbing the graduates…
Graduates seem to be more focused on what ethics the company holds – what the values are. An article from The Guardian stated “Almost half the workforce (42%) now want to work for an organisation that has a positive impact on the world.” In today’s world, a job is much more than just a 9 to 5, it’s a talking point in a conversation. What your company stands for reflects on who the employees are as individuals, a person wants to be associated with a company who share the same ethical values.
What does this mean for graduates? It means you have to think outside of the box when offering up your own graduate schemes. A graduate needs to understand your company, they need to be able to get that insight into what you’re about. What benefits do you offer? Do you promote charitable work? If you have a recycling scheme – shout about it! Do you as a company have a fantastic programme that helps the homeless? A graduate will want to know! Forbes went as far to say “Culture-driven companies explicitly put their people first” and “take care of your people and they will take care of your customers”.
In the previously mentioned article from The Guardian, consultant Simon Cohen said: “By creating a culture and environment which has values that are meaningful and aligned with those of staff, people are more motivated to work for you and will bend over backwards for things that they believe in”. One example of this can be using the logos of the charities that you support on your website, like H&G do.
How your blog can sell your company values
There are a lot of different branding exercises that a company can conduct in order to highlight all these values. Editorial articles and blog posts draw attention because they lend themselves to being shared. According to one source “Blogs have been rated as the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information.”
What does this mean in terms of recruitment? A blog can be a window into your company, giving prospective candidates a snippet into life as an employee for you. The informal tone of a blog gives a friendly insight that candidates can trust and relate to.
It’s also important to look at what’s on your website; are you highlighting the values? Are they easy to find? A graduate wants to understand a company, however they also want to do this fast. Don’t hide your values beneath corporate jargon – if you are proud of your company morals, then make sure they are seen!
Your company’s values are defining you in the eyes of a prospective candidate – make sure they are clear, concise and well emphasised.
Written by Charlotte Rastelli.
Charlotte is graduate attraction schemes Project Manager specialising in holistic 360 marketing UK wide. Connect with Charlotte on Linkedin.
