Thinking about the world’s most successful brands, names like Google, Apple, Nike and FedEx come to mind. These brands have excelled their own category of products or service and some have even become symbols in themselves. They have become what every brand dreams of: they represent the act of doing or using their own product or service, the verb itself – Google it, FedEx it.

Apart from a strong and iconic brand these organisations have something else in common: they also have desirable workplaces. Not only do they have the most innovative, trendy office environments but also the best cultural fit for many individuals.

The million-dollar question is: why? From the human resource perspective, the answer is simple – it’s their culture. These companies create a particular culture that draws people in, keeps them engaged and continuously keeps them motivated.

Sometimes this particular culture is created by ‘accident’, a natural reflection of the management style of the owners. However, I believe that in most cases and probably in the best scenarios it has been well planned and designed. Senior management and executives thoroughly discuss and devise what they want to stand for, what they want to represent and ensure they implement strategies and measures that reflect these values and that their style of management also reflects this culture down to the lower grades in the organisation. In so doing all employees feel that they belong to a community and that their share in the operation, whether it is substantial or minute, is being valued.

So how do we do it?

We all know of the hurdle to recruit and train nowadays, but the biggest challenge  is retention: keeping employees engaged and motivated from the early stages of recruitment and for the longest duration possible.

First impressions are imperative. It’s trivial but yet so true. The recruitment process and the first weeks of onboarding and starting a new job are critical to meet and hopefully exceed expectations. There is nothing more frustrating for the applicant than not knowing where they stand in the recruitment process, waiting for a call or feedback after an interview.

Managing people’s expectations can go a long way. One needs to start building the relationship as soon as the prospective employee applies for the job, even if the person is not chosen in the end, it is still a process of employer branding. Employer branding is about promoting your company as the employer of choice; such a process is not created overnight.

Managing people’s expectations can go a long way. One needs to start building the relationship

The second phase is the engagement and induction, which is even more critical – the first day of work. The person arrives excited and so the last thing they need is bureaucracy, paperwork, things not working, no preparation or unfriendly environments. Apart from the official induction programme, we organise a few meetings, sometimes even informal, with managers/heads of departments. Each manager has an area that they present to the employee. These meetings are designed to be informative but not too overwhelming, usually in one-to-one or very small groups. New recruits get to know each other, and their specific duties and responsibilities within the company; especially in our case, we try to give them a taste of all the diverse operations.

Of course, certain positions would entail longer and more detailed discussions, but these are organised at a later stage. We find this to be very helpful for employees, so when they have a difficulty or a simple query in the first few weeks, relating to IT, legal, PR, marketing or finance, they know exactly whom to talk to. It is also a good ice-breaker from the mundane paperwork, formal inductions and introductions and initial training, all of which are essential and mostly obligatory.

The other crucial element is to create the best-fit culture – keeping employees interested and entertained and getting together to unwind. I see huge value in meeting in a more casual and relaxed environment. Whether these are lunches, team-building activities involving physical activities, brainstorming or problem-solving, cultural trips, wine-tasting events or treasure hunts, social dinners or just meeting up for drinks, all these help to create the right culture, give value to one another by allowing us to understand each other better and hence work better together, therefore resulting in greater efficiency too. I also find it important to have a mix of activities and be creative and unpredictable, as millennials tend to get bored quickly.

These events, especially in large organisations, are very beneficial if they involve different teams from different units to get together. Sometimes employees communicate by phone or e-mail but they never meet. I find it very healthy and crucial to create the best cultural fit by integrating different units, people from different backgrounds, and having very different job roles to mingle and form relationships and friendships outside of the office environment.

The role of the human resource manager has grown considerably in the last couple of years. Today we no longer speak about personnel management, strict policies and procedures, but about HR strategy, talent management, teambuilding, digital HR, employer branding and employer of choice. Company branding is no longer solely the job of the marketing department but it has become a part of the HR professional’s job as well.

Charmaine Monseigneur is AX Group’s human resources manager.