Would showing a picture of group team video call, on the company's web profile, be a useful 'culture' image? [closed]

Question

A couple things to get out of the way as caveats:

• assuming that all employees signed consent, same as when photos are taken in an office.
• assuming that a fully-distributed company, with no central office and everyone working from home or other local accommodation.
• assuming these are static images, not video.

Many 'corporate social media' give companies the ability to create a public profile, including images. These images usually feature in-office working scenarios, like collaboration, social times, the vibe of the space, celebrating wins, etc.

In a 'fully remote' distributed-team environment, none of these are easy to capture in images.

Would showing an image of a group team call provide anything good for the image of company culture?

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Can some people please just answer the question instead of meta-assumptions and well-actually comments? It's a sincere question and I'm in a position a) do this, b) get any legal consents needed, and c) not reveal IP/secrets Every company photo is forced and we all cope.

This is not hip (cringe) showmanship - I'm legitimately interested in showing what our very-well-functioning fully-remote company culture 'looks like'.

Answer 1

I think it could be useful if the "fully-remote" nature of your company is unusual among direct competitors, especially when you consider your social profile as a landing place for potential employment candidates. It distinguishes you. Your clients or customers may not care so much, unless the fully-remote nature puts your employees closer to the customers. (Which might be better communicated other ways.)

Some other thoughts:

• An actual screenshot of a group call will inevitably include at least one person not looking their best. You may need to get several from small-group calls and edit the best images together.
• Depending on your industry, some may consider the gallery-view videoconference to be one of the worst things about remote work. It will still be "useful", but maybe not in the anticipated way.

Another idea (or the same idea from a different vantage):

Get staged images of four of your most photogenic staff, selected for diversity. They should be professionally-photographed by the same photographer so there's a cohesive vision. Each person should be sitting at the home workstation where they usually work. The computer screen in front of them should have a videoconference displayed. (It may not be the best thing to show, but it won't be sensitive information, and it won't be PowerPoint.) Make sure each photo contains some artifact of a hobby or outside interest and no clutter. Make sure one has a cat curled nearby (not poking the employee for attention or treats) and one has a dog similarly visible. No children except for photos on the desk. Arrange the four photos in a 2 × 2 grid.

If the intended audience has a suitable sense of humor, the screen images could include some "Easter eggs", like:

• workplace.stackexchange.com
• Glassdoor reviews of your company
• Cat videos
• Online university course in a field that's a common exit path for people in your industry.

Answer 2

Would showing an image of a group team call provide anything good for the image of company culture?

Sure it would, it shows an aspect of your company that would appeal to some people. So long as it's a nicely made picture it's just another marketing image.

I wouldn't advise doing it with too many people in it, people glance at these things, a few keen looking, professionally presented people in a clear picture is much better than a bunch in their pyjamas in a too-busy picture. Also easier to organise.

Answer 3

Would showing an image of a group team call provide anything good for the image of company culture?

Yes this would have helped in 2019. It might even be relevant in a post COVID world. But in 2020 and 2021 this image says you did what everybody either did or wish they could have done.

This is not hip (cringe) showmanship - I'm legitimately interested in showing what our very-well-functioning fully-remote company culture 'looks like'.

I am not sure what image you can have that will show that it isn't just misplaced marketing. I have never believed any of those marketing pictures showing what the company culture feels like. I don't even trust the words with those pictures. Everybody claims the same things regardless of the reality.

Tell stories. Don't just include happy snaps.

Give detailed explicit examples. Tell us how you pivoted, how it saved the business, or saved the customer. Tell how it has changed the group going forward. Otherwise you are saying we did the same stuff everybody else did, and will go back to normal after the crisis.

Answer 4

This is the problem with remote work: if you have no office then you have no office culture. The best thing you can show then is a picture of a Zoom call, because that is your culture: your culture is Zoom calls and Slack conversations.

Now, the question you're asking is, is that an appropriate depiction of the office culture, particularly vis a vis trying to appear attractive to potential applicants. But I think you're putting the cart before the horse. Here's the real question you should be asking: Do you want to hire someone to whom that sort of thing is not attractive? 　If you hire someone into a company whose company culture is defined by Zoom meetings and Slack conversations, then do you want that person to like the idea of Zoom meetings and Slack conversations or not? If not, then is that person even a good fit for your company at all? I would argue that if a person doesn't want this type of culture, such as it is, then perhaps it's not worth that person applying to your company anyway, and perhaps your culture exposition has done its job, by negating a useless application that won't go anywhere from coming into your inbox. So maybe this is precisely what you want.

Now, as for what type of picture to post, you can do whatever you like. The one thing you must do though is to give warning to your people before taking the picture, and tell them what it will be used for. You want to give people who don't want to be in the picture opportunity to not engage, and people who do want to engage you want to give them warning to look their best, because it reflects not only on them individually but also the company. Don't just randomly take a picture and throw it up online, or else you'll get the Nicki Minaj effect [1]. Make sure you give people warning and notice.

[1]: For anyone interested, put on any Nicki Minaj video on Youtube, and randomly pause it at any point, and look at her facial expression. It's usually good for a laugh.