Invest in your culture to recruit and retain the best

Perks are great, but they’re not the best way to build a culture that attracts top talent.

Inevitably, there will always be a different organization that can offer better “stuff,” so trying to compete on perks isn’t worthwhile.

The trick is creating a working environment that makes your team excited to come to work day in and day out. This is what candidates and employees really care about.

Here are four points to consider when shaping your culture:

1. Start when you’re hiring.

Culture isn’t just for your current employees. It starts the moment a candidate first comes across your organization—either inbound or when your team is sourcing candidates.

Candidates might browse your site and read your “About Us” page, but the formative impression they’ll have of your organization will be based on their interactions with your recruiting team.

If you’re not careful, you can do real damage to your employer brand at this stage.

The organizations that sustain high application numbers tend to be the ones that are the best at transmitting their culture to candidates.