The work environment is not just the office
Like their counterparts in Silicon Valley, tech companies and startups in the Philippines try to build a strong employer brand by promoting their work environment. Unfortunately, most founders interpret their work environment in the strict physical sense.
They may highlight – in exclusive features given to tech or business media – their office open floor plan, punctuated with bean bags, hammocks, and other quirky design features. The layout and features seem to scream: We’re different! There are no cubicles here.
Some founders broaden the definition of work environment to encompass specific perks. Some may share videos of their Taco Tuesdays and other catered lunches. Others may show off jolly photos of their beer nights at the local barcade. Still others may promote company-wide jaunts to the nearest beach.
The theme here is necessarily more advanced than companies that only promote their office design, but it’s still woefully short on substance. It seems to say: We work hard, but party harder. The messaging is not much more elevated than what you would overhear on fraternity row on a Friday night.
Founders should take this criticism to heart. If you’re building your employer brand on bean bags and beer, I would argue that you don’t really have one at all. If all it takes is a trip to a furniture supplier and a convenience store to duplicate your culture, then you have gone dramatically awry in crafting your organization.
I would also be wary of the people you recruit with this kind of employer branding. As soon as another company comes along with shinier toys, you may wave goodbye to these office- and perk-obsessed employees. You end up, in short, not with culture, but with churn.
Culture as the heart of an employer brand
Culture cannot be broken down into line items on an accountant’s spreadsheet. True culture – like those belonging to the top tech giants we all seek to emulate – is as unique as a fingerprint. It’s your company’s DNA.
The key, then, to a strong employer brand is widening the definition of work environment to encompass not only your office or its perks, but how people interact with one another and what the organization does to improve this interaction. This culture is what should form the beating heart of your employer brand, as I’ve learned first-hand as a marketing officer at Ambidextr.
How do you know what separates your company’s culture from others? Practicing self-awareness as an individual is already hard. Practicing self-awareness as an organization composed of dozens or hundreds of people is astronomically harder, but it’s still possible. You must take stock of how your company set out to do, as measured in your mission-vision, your stated values, your employee handbook, and other similar collaterals, against the day-to-day reality of work life.
What opportunities are their internally for learning, training, and development? How do employees give feedback to one another? Are employees encouraged to take on side projects or even moonshots? Where does the team go out to relax and unwind? Why is the organization structured as it is?
There are an endless set of questions that will help founders identify what really separates their company from the others in their market, or even those just in their space. Once companies identify this cultural DNA, they need to ensure that both the public relations and human resources team are united in promoting this same messaging across internal and external channels.
Your HR team must convey this cultural DNA across all recruitment marketing efforts, from job descriptions and company boilerplates all the way up to profile listings on job boards and databases. Your public relations team must find unique ways to amplify your cultural DNA through company features, thought leadership, employee profiles, milestones, and other stories.
Yes, you can still mention your beautiful office, or your cushy perks, but any mention of either should go toward promoting your cultural DNA. This focus ensures you attract not only top talent, but the kind of talent that will advance your culture as much as your business. These type of people fall into the very small sliver of people who are both a cultural- and a business-fit, yet who are worth every effort to find: The talented culture-fits will have an outsized impact on your company’s growth.
About the Author
Joanna Viegan, a Communication major in Media Production graduate at Assumption College-San Lorenzo Makati. I am currently a marketing officer at public relations and content marketing studio, Ambidextr.
