Does your marketing showcase your company culture?
With the great resignation disproportionately affecting the healthcare sector, companies with a better work environment are more equipped to attract (and keep) talent.
This week in Healthgrades, Kriste Goad writes about the convergence of 3 societal shifts affecting healthcare CMOs:
The great resignation
The great migration
The digital divide
COVID was no doubt a catalyst for all three once-in-a-generation shifts. Marketers are left to not only determine how to attract new patients, but also figure out how to serve existing ones who are entirely changed and how to attract talent.
It’s not a job for the faint-hearted.
Goad writes, “It’s difficult to attract and retain patients when you can’t attract and retain the people who you need to deliver a quality care experience.”
Marketers can’t do this job alone. Besides competitive pay and benefits, company culture is key to attracting talent.
Your marketing should showcase your culture.
Once company culture is positive, it’s the marketing team’s job to ensure everyone knows it.
The best way to do this is to empower your team to be ambassadors for your organization.
In a world where influencers with a capital “I” can turn a little known product into a best seller overnight, your employees can serve as micro influencers–people who share stories about your organization and are trusted among their community of friends.
This doesn’t have to be manipulative. In fact, it can be natural. Employees are proud to share stories and experiences about a job they love. Those who feel valued are more likely to spread the word about your organization if they are specifically asked or have an incentive.
How to turn your employees into ambassadors
Train your team to use LinkedIn. Most of your employees likely have a Linked profile they’re not using. Consider a staff training to teach them how to optimize their profile and link it to your company page. Employees who use LinkedIn to showcase their workplace can stand out as leaders in the organization, as well as ambassadors for your brand. And leaders who share their subject matter expertise can help your organization stand out. You’ll also want to create a brand cover image for every employee to use. (Of course, a clear social media and HIPPA compliant policy must be in place.)
Assign ambassadors. Identify a few social savvy employees to submit photos/videos/stories that your marketing team can share. The team on the ground is likely to be the first to hear about story opportunities. If you reward them for submitting stories and photos, you’ll likely have more than you can even use. According to LinkedIn, on average, employees have 10 times more 1st-degree connections on LinkedIn than a company page has followers. Additionally, internal LinkedIn research shows that employees are 60% more likely to engage with posts from coworkers vs. non-coworkers.
Celebrate your team. If you review your marketing metrics, it’s likely that blogs and social media stories of employee excellence and promotions are your highest performing pieces content. Not only does your team deserve recognition, but coworkers typically love to celebrate one another. Those stories also go a long way to let prospective employees and patients know about your outstanding team.
Create shareable moments. Buzz-worthy experiences benefit employee morale and attract new talent. One client of mine designed a team-building event for leadership where teams of four raced to put together a children’s bicycle. The catch was that only one team member had to put together the bike–blindfolded. The others gave verbal instructions. At the end of the event (and after a mechanic inspected the bikes) local children from the Boys & Girls Club ran in to find their new bikes. The program was great for team building, culture and morale. It was shared to the local media and was long remembered in the organization.
Use social media for employee story takeovers. Social media stories are the perfect medium for telling a story about some of your open positions. Need more nurses? Select a few of your current nurses to share “a day in the life” working at your organization. Similar to college admissions departments, you can use these stories as a recruitment tool. Prospective employees will get an insiders’ view of your team and your workplace culture.
Reach out for support sharing your company culture on social media and in blogs or ghostwriting SME LinkedIn posts! Contact us