report that their company is a great place to work, compared with 59% of employees at a typical American company. Among the reasons for their high rankings are reports that they “feel good about the ways [they] contribute to the community” and they are proud to tell others they work at Patagonia. These employees have a very positive story about their company and the purpose served by their work!
A CPG client of ours contracted us to help them find the right story to help recruit MBAs to their company. What worked? Stories about food—its comfort, nostalgia, and connection. Once the candidates realized their work would bring warmth and nourishment to people’s tables, it was a game changer in their perception of their potential career. The client’s conversion rate increased 20% with this storytelling strategy.
Rebecca’s uniform company has many stories to tell of their diverse clients—hospitals, family owned businesses, summer camps, and more. Her company can and should highlight those stories to bring purpose to employees’ everyday to-do lists. It should also show employees how the company’s success is a direct result of their hard, passionate work.Most employees are cognizant of their own professional needs and goals, and this should be incorporated in your company’s story.
Individuals who see an exciting future with you are not going to stealthily update their resumes during staff meetings. If you know where you are going, if you have great plans, if you’re excited for your company’s future, you absolutely must build this narrative and communicate it often to your employees.
Who should be telling your company stories? Yes, it should be top leadership, and yes, it should be your HR team. But it should also be every employee of your company. Once you have formed and told your story and have a storytelling culture in place that brings narrative into your celebrations, low points, and times of upheaval, you’ve built a strong sense of history, purpose, and optimism to rally everyone together.
this is terrible news