Human Resources Blog - Spark Hire

Does Your Corporate Culture Spark Career Passion?

Most recruiters and hiring managers understand the importance of a top-notch corporate culture. After all, implementing a culture with great corporate values will make your company more attractive to the kind of job seekers you need to walk through your company’s front doors. These perks can range from nap rooms and unlimited vacations to free lunches.

While great perks might nab you more applicants for your open jobs, will these benefits also nab you long-lasting talent? Employee turnover can be very, very expensive. In fact, a recent long-range study found the cost of employee turnover tended to be about 21 percent of the employee’s annual salary

This is certainly a lot of money to be flying out of your company due to employee turnover. It doesn’t even take into account how this turnover can play havoc with your company’s internal schedule and put other employees under additional stress.

While you want to create a corporate culture that will attract the kind of job seekers your company needs, you also want this corporate culture to motivate sincere career passion. This means your job seekers aren’t just looking for a job at your company because of great perks and smart benefits, instead they’re looking for a career. These job seekers are looking toward the future and imagining climbing the career ladder at your organization.

So how do you create a corporate culture to spark career passion? Here are a few ways to get the long-lasting employees you need and avoid the expenses of employee turnover:

Explain how to climb the career ladder early in the process:
Your career site should tell interested job seekers a story about how they can excel before they even get started recording their video resume. Make it abundantly clear your company takes career success very seriously. You might even want to include how a talented employee can climb the rugs on your corporate career ladder and attain a better job title directly in the job description.

If applicants can see a future for themselves at the company before they even submit their video resume, they’ll be more likely to stick around once they get the job. Instead of focusing on the greener grass elsewhere, they’ll be focused on climbing the career ladder and adding value to your organization.

Focus on professional development:
Great candidates aren’t just looking for a 9-to-5 job; they’re looking for a career they can imbue with their passion and enthusiasm. These smart workers want to learn on the job and take on additional responsibilities. Therefore, professional development will be an attractive perk to keep these ever-learning applicants interested.

On your career site and in your job descriptions, highlight the potential for real professional development in your organization. Perhaps your company is willing to train smart candidates in new technology or send these employees to classes to learn new skills. Professional development can also occur by networking at events where large groups of industry professionals gather.

Remember, the same employees who will be interested in climbing your career ladder and sticking around for the long haul will be interested in adding new tools to their arsenal with some top-quality professional development. As a bonus, you’ll gain even more effective workers.

Develop a mentorship program:
A great way to help employees gain new knowledge and skills, while developing strong ties to your corporate culture, is to implement a mentorship program. By fostering mentorship between new hires and more knowledgeable workers, you’re helping new workers learn the ropes while also learning new skills.

Mentorship can also help these employees feel more at home in your corporate culture and develop ties to their coworkers. A good mentorship program will get everyone from high level employees to brand new hires involved in cultivating the next generation of talent.

Cutting down on employee turnover is important for companies looking to reduce the amount of money and talent fleeing their company. Focus on these simple ways to improve your company culture so it will spark career passion in your applicants!

What are some ways you spark career passion in your applicants and employees? Share in the comments!

IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr Photo by Alex Proimos.

Heather Huhman

Heather R. Huhman is the Career & Recruiting Advisor for Spark Hire. She writes career and recruiting advice for numerous outlets, and is the author of Lies, Damned Lies & Internships: The Truth About Getting from Classroom to Cubicle (2011), and #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010).