Nashville Methodology for Job Seekers

This is for Job-Seekers

Are you currently job-seeking? One good sign to look for is whether or not a company and leadership are committed to delivering a positive employee experience. Employees and candidates want to know - do you stand for something, walk the talk on values, and help people see that their work matters?

Employee stories and reviews are trusted by candidates as evidence of being an employer of choice. We’ve looked at both to find employers who are Culture Strong and Story Rich! 

Our GoodSeeker Top Story-Rich Employers list is a great resource for top talent!

Out of the 300 companies we researched in Nashville, the 20 on our list stood out for their commitment to culture, values, and celebrating employee success. We also like how they put employees at the center of their brand story. It’s not every day that you find companies that care about uplifting employee voices.

What do employee and talent stories have to do with employee success?

The point of story-telling in the workplace is to not only show the operations within the company, but to give credit to all the work that is put in from employees that are often overlooked or go unrecognized. Companies that go the extra mile to make employees part of their brand are not doing it because they have to- it’s because they want to. There is no requirement to provide visibility to employees in advertising. However, many that decide to do this empower their employees by having them share their story. Stories are the vehicle to prove to people that a company cares about employees. Employee-generated stories have the ability to humanize your brand, authenticate company culture, and give a voice to those that make things possible.
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Why is it important to work for story-rich employers?‍

Great cultures are built with stories. Sharing organic employee stories builds trust and increases transparency and visibility for all - three things that give employees and candidates confidence that they can be successful. Working for a story rich employer means that your talents have a greater chance of being recognized.  

Our goal is to make finding these companies easy for you. That’s why this list showcases the Top Story-Rich Employers - ones that puts employees at the forefront, uplifts employee voices, honors your talents, and shows thanks to your dedication.

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Our Rankings

Story Power is the overall score of a company determined by our scoring methodology. A perfect score is 10. The majority of companies we evaluated in Nashville had scores below 3.0.  

Criteria for scoring: 

1. Voice on Values: How engaged are past and present employees in sharing their experiences on review sites like Glassdoor and Indeed. We looked at the ratio of total reviews (Indeed and Glassdoor) compared to total current and past employees (LinkedIn). A higher percentage of reviews indicates more people who feel strongly about a company. When more employees share stories about their company, that’s a good indicator that the company values individuals and promoting employee voices.
2. Visibility of Values: Do these companies make it easy for people to see what they stand for and how they hold themselves accountable?  According to GlassDoor’s 2019 Mission & Culture Survey, over 77% of adults across four countries (the U.S, UK, France, and Germany) would consider a company’s culture before applying to a job there, and 79% would consider a company’s mission and purpose before applying. That’s why we included this in our search criteria and gave companies more points when these attributes were front and center. These companies are trying their best to keep culture alive even while employees work remotely. 
3. Reviews on Culture: How do past and present employees rate company culture.  We focused on Indeed and Glassdoor culture ratings. We know reviews play a major part in candidates’ decisions when it comes to job-seeking. They trust what peers say a lot (even ones they don’t know). When our Voice on Values ratio is high (had to be 10% or more to make our list) these ratings become more reliable. But we know that reviews rarely tell the full story of what it’s like to work for a company. A Fractl study shows that “just over 10% of people admitted to lying or stretching the truth when it comes to online reviews.” So we did not base our analysis on review sites alone. We looked for stories.
4. Website Stories: Does the company use prime website space to promote  employee authenticity and employee success?
   ‍Blogs and pages dedicated to showcasing and spotlighting employees and the impact they make are great to see.  Companies that conduct values based awards programs and regularly celebrate employee accomplishments on their “public” website scored higher in our rankings. It’s evidence that a company sees the connection between their talent and brand.
5. Spotlights on Social: We totally stalked these companies on social media.
   ‍We looked for employers actively promoting employee contributions on social media. Since social media is the communication channel of choice for prospects and candidates, it says a lot when a company publicly highlights their employees for all to see. Celebrating team success on social media takes employee appreciation to a new level. 
   

Overall, here’s how we did this: 

We selected all companies with headquarters in the Nashville area with over 100 employees using LinkedIn data. We then look at a combination of weighted culture ratings across Glassdoor and Indeed. Companies had to have a 3.4 or greater to be considered. 

For “Voice on Values” we looked at the ratio of total reviews compared to current and past employees from LinkedIn data. Only companies with at least a 10% voice on values ratio were considered. For example, an employer with 500 employees, 40 reviews and a 4.5 culture rating would not have made our list. Not enough voices to back up the rating! 

Next, we specifically looked for evidence of clear values noted on the website within one click of the homepage. Then, we assessed whether or not an employer actively promotes employee success stories on their website (or careers pages) and on social media.  

We weighted each criteria and scored each employer to create our final list. These organizations show a commitment to culture, values, and making employees feel like their story matters - and we are proud to promote them as a Culture Strong and Story Rich Employers.

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*There is no cost or obligation to be on this list.*