How do you attract top-level talent and get them interested in your organization? You start by understanding the first two steps in the candidate’s journey.
These include becoming aware of opportunities with your company and determining if your organization’s values align with theirs. This article will focus on the second step because it’s becoming more important than ever.
How Do Candidates Determine if Your Values Align with Theirs?
How important are corporate values? When polled, people in every industry and demographic indicated that company mission and values played a significant part in the hiring process. It’s a top priority.
It’s important enough that job-seekers will make a dedicated effort to learn as much as possible about the companies they are considering. They’ll read candidate and employee reviews and testimonials, examine company news, and check out your social responsibility statement.
Unfortunately, there’s often some important information missing. It’s easy for job candidates to learn about your organizational culture and values from current and former employees, third parties, even your own recruiting and marketing departments.
However, in many cases, they don’t hear from organizational leadership. At least not in a meaningful way. This disconnect is where C-Suite profiles can help.
What are C-Suite Profiles?
A C-suite profile is an in-depth profile that highlights the life and work of a C-level executive. Profiles can take the form of an interview, video, or story. It’s a service that is available to all Comparably clients yearly.
What Is the Value of a C-Suite Profile?
When job candidates research companies, they often only find sound-bites that come directly from company executives. Worse, they may come across inaccurate information about company leadership and values.
A C-suite profile is a platform for company executives to share, in their own words, any information that they want to get out to job-seekers and others.
What Information Is in C-Suite Profiles?
Executives are welcome to address any subject they believe will help communicate their values, stories, and vision to potential job seekers. Here are some examples of great information that company executives have shared through their profiles.
Communicating Diversity and Inclusion in a Personal and Impactful Way
We recently published a powerful, moving interview with Danita Oliver, RingCentral’s Sr. Global DE&I Leader. In this piece, Oliver addresses her move from Finance and Operations to her current position. She specifically speaks to the death of George Floyd and how that event catalyzed her change in career focus.
She does an excellent job of stating what DE&I efforts mean for her company, “The work we’re doing now is broadening people’s understanding of what’s traditionally occurred, particularly for marginalized groups such as Latinx, African Americans, women, and LGBTQ,” she explained.
“At the same time, it’s broadening their vision of success to one that is more inclusive of those people groups.”
The people who read this profile will learn how RingCentral incorporates diversity equity and inclusion in its employee development efforts.
“Let us help you through an apprenticeship to hone those critical skills and learn from some of the best in the industry through an invaluable experience,” she says, regarding the company’s initiative to offer opportunities to diverse candidates who are interested in cyber security and product design. “Parlay that experience for entry into RingCentral.”
This kind of detailed, in-depth information paints a picture of her values and priorities in the area of diversity, as well as the very real ways in which her company puts those values into action.
Showcasing Opportunity and Employee Development
Shawn Kelly is Director of Appliance Repair for Asurion. He recently sat for an interview that began with his own story. He details how he started as a roadside assistance technician, moved into various leadership roles in the organization as they became available, and eventually came to lead the appliance repair department.
His story offers some great insights for candidates who may wonder if their approach to work aligns with Asurion’s. His own words show that the company values workers with initiative who are willing to seize opportunities.
Shawn says, “I just have typically tended to bet on myself, and I really don’t like saying no to good opportunities. It’s opened a lot of doors to me. And that mindset really accelerates the learning curve, accelerates the career development, and accelerates leadership thinking, and that’s been really helpful.”
Suppose candidates are interested in an organization that invests in its employees and promotes from within. In that case, Mr. Kelly’s own story is proof positive that Asurion is a workplace they should consider.
Sharing Mental Health and Wellness as an Employer’s Priority
CeCe Morken is the CEO of Headspace, and she recently sat with Comparably CEO Jason Nazar to discuss an issue important to workers today: Mental health and how employers should actively encourage workers to take care of themselves.
The approach taken in this profile is notably different. Here, Ms. Morken uses her expertise to establish genuine thought leadership by sharing her knowledge and experience on mental health, mindfulness, creativity, and innovation.
That goes a long way towards showing interested job-seekers that company leadership at Headspace truly understands mental health and the best practices behind their products in this niche.
Candidates reading her profile will also learn that the company cares about their workers’ well-being and mental health. That’s something the majority of candidates will see as a definite benefit.
What makes a Great C-Suite Profile?
The best profiles provide personal insights and offer information that readers can’t find elsewhere. When executives take the time to share their stories, values, and expertise, it’s more impactful for job-seekers than simply repeating information they can find elsewhere or covering an array of topics without much depth.
