Why your story matters (as an employer)

Last week I blogged about the importance of your story from the candidate's perspective.  Today I thought I would tackle the same subject, but from the employer's point of view.  Does it matter as much?  If so, how do you tell the story?

For any of you watching the March Madness unfold you may have seen some of the snubs from the selection committee.  The one getting the most press this morning is SMU not getting in despite winning their conference tournament and being ranked in the AP Top 25 to end the season.  Why would this happen?  It is their story that mattered.  Their early season non-conference schedule was very weak compared to other teams, and that mattered at the end of the day to the committee.

While this selection process received much more national attention that a candidate choosing to work for any given employer, there are some similarities we can draw:

1)  It is important to think ahead.  The NCAA selection committee is nothing if not consistent.  They have told teams for a number of years that early season non-conference games are important.  If teams choose not to strengthen their schedule ahead of conference play, they only have themselves to blame.  Similarly employers know there are some things employees look for consistently - good working culture, long term tenure of current employees, employee benefits and vacation schedules, room for improvement, and much more.  What will help attract the next generation of employee?  Figure that out and start implementing little things as soon as possible.

2)  It is okay to change.  As much as SMU can be proud of the season they had, they now know without doubt that if they want a chance at the NCAA tournament next year they better put some marquee names on their schedule for early next year.  It may stretch them a little, and they could even lose a few of those games.  But they might win, and that could propel them to being selected next year.  Perhaps you have seen other employers add a week of vacation to new offer sheets, and you have not wanted to do that.  Or maybe you see other employers having more of a public presence on social media or in the community.  It could be time to do more of that and not be afraid to advertise that fact.

3)  It is good to make a market comparison.  I am confident that the coaches and administration at SMU will look back on this year and see how what they planned stacks up against other schools that got into the tournament.  Not just looking at RPI, strength of schedule, and conference opponents.  But a comprehensive look at recruiting, off-season workouts, film study, and much more that could prepare them for a different type of early season schedule next year.  Too often employers live in a bubble and don't know what their competition may or may not be offering to new employees.  And oftentimes that information is public knowledge on websites, social media, and much more.  Why not take advantage of this information to see how you stack up against your competition.  If your story is better, why not tell everyone you know.  If your story needs some tweaking, put a plan into place to make some changes.

There are many more examples I could give or stories told about some of my clients that do tell their story well.  On the other hand, there are some that could take lessons from the best employers to tell their story even better.  It does matter if you really want to recruit the best long term employees.

What examples do you have about what your employer does to tell their story?