Does My Company Culture Attract Top Talent?

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

Finding quality employees is a never ending challenge for tree care companies. Despite a surplus of job openings in nearly every trade, skilled candidates remain hard to come by. Businesses everywhere are offering competitive wages just to bring people in the door. With so many options available to job seekers, what makes your company stand out?

One of the most powerful differentiators is your company culture.

Whether you realize it or not, your company already has a culture. The real question is: Is it the kind of culture that attracts the talent you want to hire?

Company culture encompasses the values, ethics, goals, and expectations that shape employee behavior. It also includes elements like trust and communication—two crucial factors that influence how your team operates, as highlighted in Kevin Martlage’s article, “Building Trust With Intentional and Transparent Communication.”

If you’re unsure about the current state of your company’s culture, start by digging into your safety program as it’s often a clear indicator of your company’s overall environment and priorities. To do this, ask your team about their experiences/feelings about safety within your company. You can do this via one-on-one interviews, anonymous surveys (like ArboRisk’s Safety Culture Assessment) or during a tailgate safety meeting. Just witnessing the level of interaction you get will give you a solid picture of how comfortable your team feels about safety and open communication. 

As you can imagine, the difference between an open and trusting safety culture and one that is rigid and authoritative is night and day. Both businesses may be successful, however, they will have a very different feel between the two, thereby attracting very different employees. 

What’s more, companies with a strong safety culture tend to have an equally strong overall company culture—one that attracts and retains top-tier talent.

Ask Yourself These Questions About Your Culture:

• Do employees hear more about profits or about customer satisfaction?

• Are team members given the support and resources they need to succeed?

• How much time and money is dedicated to ongoing training?

• Is communication clear, and do employees understand the reasoning behind decisions?

• Does your workplace feel supportive and inclusive?

• What systems are in place to onboard new employees effectively?

• Are employees treated with the same respect and care as customers?

• When policies or changes are considered, are employee perspectives included in the discussion?

Honest answers to these questions can reveal a lot about your company’s culture. Be objective—and if the answers raise concerns, it may be time to consider a cultural shift.

Creating a culture that draws in top talent doesn’t happen overnight, but the payoff is worth the effort.

Need help building a culture that attracts the right people? Reach out to an ArboRisk team member today and learn how our New Heights Package can help you get started.

This article was first authored by Peggy Drescher and later updated by Eric Petersen.