How Your Office Design Affects Your Social Media Presence And Employee Recruitment
by admin
WOVOX.com lets people show workplaces the way they really are through pictures, videos and reviews. It gives potential customers, partners and job seekers an authentic impression of the companies they´re interested in.
They used to be a Dutch web design agency. Their new team members got really excited about working with us when shown pictures of the workplace. They saw that there are millions of vacancies, but the workplace you’ll end up in remains misty until you’ve seen it with your own eyes.
Today I’ll be interviewing Arjen Hoekstra, who is the head of Social Media Strategy at WOVOX.
What is a “transparent workplace”? What are some of the key philosophies behind this movement?
A transparent workplace is one that shows itself the way it really is.
People desire transparency more and more in everything they’re interested in. They’re no longer charmed by a shiny commercial, and they know that everything has its flaws. They want the real deal, and they’re getting it because so much is being shared online now.
And with transparency spreading to companies, people will more easily find or be inspired to create a workplace they like. Also, we hope it will empower people to make a change in their lives, simply through discovering new possibilities.
One of the biggest problems for business owners and managers is hiring and keeping quality, self-motivated employees. How does WOVOX help with this?
When people have the freedom (and anonymity) to voice their experience, beautiful things and rubbish come to the surface. We see in both opportunities for learning and growth.
On the inside: transparency creates room for dialogue and involvement, essential stepping stones to create and maintain a highly driven team.
To the outside: transparency allows the biggest ambassadors to emerge (sometimes from the most unlikely places). Job seekers can make a much more informed decision on where, how and with whom they’ll work. This only increases the chance of a successful match.
What are some other benefits for companies that post their office spaces on WOVOX?
Companies can embed a WOVOX workplace page on their own site, much like a YouTube video. This gives them a free tool to show online visitors more about who and where they are.
Another benefit is serendipity. WOVOX’ randomized browsing feature lets people discover places in completely different industries. Companies can inspire people through little things like how they lunch together, not just for the products and services they sell.
I’ve noticed that companies like Threadless, Facebook and Google spend a lot of money on office design. How can companies justify the ROI of investing so much in interior design, architecture and art?
These companies can best speak for themselves, but we believe that an interesting, inspiring space makes people feel at ease and encourages creativity. But there’s also a bucket load of research that shows how such environments lead to a happier, more productive workforce.
In your opinion, who has the coolest of most tasteful office on WOVOX? What is the most extreme workplace you’ve seen so far?
That’s a really hard one. I´ve seen many interesting workplaces pass by. The first to pop up is Urban Influence from Seattle. With all the neon-signs in their office it looks like people there are working outside – at night! The most extreme workplace that comes to mind is Inventionland. They have an in-office waterfall and a pirate ship!
What goes on at a WOVOX workshop?
Most commonly, I or one of our team members visits a workplace with a camera to capture the workplace environment, culture, and people in pictures and videos.
People are deliberately unprepared for this, because we’ve seen how that makes for the most authentic content. Sessions like these are fun and they bring some really inspiring stuff to light on where a company stands right now and where they’re going.
What are some inexpensive tips that companies can use to make their work environments more interactive and vibrant?
Let people co-design their own workspace. It makes them feel more at home and at ease: it’s their space, and they’re all the happier for working in it.
And lunch together. Lunch is a great time to talk work and play, come up with ideas and to get to know each other. A funny thing we learned a while ago: the word ‘company’ comes from Latin: ‘Com’ means ‘with’ or ‘together’; ‘panis’ means bread. It referred to people who took their meals together.
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