Yesterday, I was able to be part of something pretty cool.  I was invited to SkyZone in Dedham to play some really fun trampoline dodgeball.  But that wasn’t the really cool part (well not all of it).  What was really cool was it was a company wide outing of a friend of mine that I was able to finagle my way into.  The do competitive fun events like this every month or so (it was F1 racing before that) and every employee gets involved.  Not only are these great team building exercises but they target exactly the employee that they actively recruit for.  Employees that live by the “work hard, play hard” mentality but most importantly people who are very competitive and always strive to win.    Their employees love these events and it fits perfectly into their high energy culture.

In addition, these events are utilized as a key recruiting perk to lure top candidates as well as a built in filter in their recruiting process.  First, these events albeit a small perk represents the “work hard, play hard” atmosphere that comes with working at the company and shows that it’s not just a sound-byte.  Second, the candidates that come in and aren’t really excited about these events usually are not the candidates that they are targeting.  They are looking for people that are high energy all the time and it’s the excitement in the opportunity and being part of their company culture that can really elevate a company over another.

Your company may not have monthly company wide events but you no doubt have some great perks that are unique to your organization and company culture.  They don’t have to be fun events either but can be training or secondary education opportunities as well as work-life balance.  The key is you need to identify the characteristics & skills you are targeting and identify what perks appeal to the best candidates the most.

Once you understand this, the real test comes when you market these perks to the best of these candidates.  The question though is how do you do this.  Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Recruiting Web Commercials: One of the best ways to get your company company in front of qualified candidates early and a good filter as well.  Directly in your apply process you can embed recruiting Web Commercials that show your company culture and fun videos of what it is like to work at your company.

Career Site: Your Career Site is one of the best ways to inform interested candidates about your company culture.  From blogs by current employees to videos of your working environment to a calendar of events where candidates can get to know your company and employees, you have tons of opportunities to show your employer brand and company culture on your career site.

During Interviews: When you invite top candidates to your office, make sure to have them meet as many employees as possible.  Also sell them on why working for your company is the right choice and how fun it is to be part of the company culture.  You should want to impress them as much as you want to impress you.

Make flaunting your company culture part of your recruitment marketing strategy.  Identify what makes your company culture and benefits special and how they appeal to the candidates that you want at your company.  Then make interactive content and video that shows candidates why working at your company is the best choice.