Have you seen Black Mirror, a British science ficition series available on Netflix? Specifically, the “Nosedive” episode? This episode is set in an alternative reality where people can rate one another using their phones, and where your personal ratings can impact everything in your life. It follows a woman named Lacie who, like almost everyone else around her, is obsessed with her ratings, but she is involved in a series of unfortunate events that send her ratings plummeting to the point that she ends up in jail.
OK, so it’s an extreme example, but there’s no denying that online reviews are more important than ever, especially when considering home service providers or restaurants, or when purchasing certain products and appliances. If you’re a business owner, you’ve probably asked customers and clients for reviews on Facebook, Google, etc., because you know that prospects are looking at them. But have you thought about how your reviews might impact prospective employees? Or about how hiring the right employees can influence your online reviews? It’s a chicken-and-egg scenario. Unless you don’t have any employees, your online ratings will often be a direct result of how the people you hire perform their jobs and interact with customers.
Attracting the right people to your business via social media makes sense. Proactive companies are creating online profiles that highlight what it’s like to work there, with some of the content coming from employees. Sharing the culture of your company on social media can orient the right people. Content ideas include:
- Quick videos of employees sharing what it’s like to work there, employees participating in a meeting, working on a project, being given an award, having fun
- Photos of the areas of your office or building beyond the reception desk
- Posts about volunteering activities or non-profit organizations that your company contributes to
- Posts that highlight individual employees’ accomplishments, either at work or on their own time
- Posts that talk about your company’s values
When you “open your doors” on social media, you allow prospective employees to envision what it could be like to work there. Finding employees who fit your company’s culture is a big key to satisfying clients and customers, which in turn helps your online ratings.
Have you seen good examples of companies that use social media to attract the right employees?