How Shaw Communications shares its inclusive culture with candidates

Shaw has always been a “People First” organization, working hard to create an environment that fosters diversity and inclusion, and allows employees to show up as they are. A workplace survey showed that 85% of Shaw employees say they feel safe being their authentic selves at work. It’s this focus internally that has helped Shaw earn a spot on Canada’s Best Diversity Employers in 2020.

While they are proud of the work they have done to create a positive culture, Shaw recognized the criticality of expanding diversity and inclusion practices to their recruiting efforts. They knew that if they wanted to sustain and add to their positive culture, they would need to continue bringing in people who shared their values.

And this is why they have been named a 2022 Textio Inspiration Award winner. Shaw recognized that having an inclusive culture isn’t enough, you must also do the work to ensure that as you grow, your culture remains inclusive as new people join.

Committing at the top

In June 2021, Shaw’s Talent Acquisition team rolled out Textio with the goal of better communicating to candidates why Shaw was the place for them. And it was important to them to get it right from the start.

For Shaw, that meant having a strong and supportive team of leaders internally championing Textio and leading its rollout. Leaders across Shaw’s People & Culture team came together to show others that Textio was more than a tool, it was an initiative to build a better Shaw.

Tolossa Hassan, Textio Customer Success, who partners with Shaw, was impressed by their ability to quickly understand and communicate the value inclusive language brings to the organization. “It’s every customer success manager’s dream to see your customer lead training sessions the way that you would,” he says.

Expanding inclusive language

Textio has allowed Shaw to tell a more compelling story of what Shaw is all about and what they offer employees. Through Textio, they have refined their job postings to use more inclusive language, with the goal of engaging broad sets of candidates, regardless of their background. They also use Textio’s LinkedIn Recruiter functionality for recruiting InMails when actively sourcing top talent and sharing job opportunities. Talent Acquisition Specialists especially enjoy that Textio is integrated with LinkedIn, making it seamless and easy to use.

After seeing the value Textio brought to recruitment programs, Shaw started cross-training other teams within the organization on how to use it. Talent Acquisition has partnered with other departments to use Textio for Employer Brand in support of their projects and initiatives. As an example, the Diversity & Inclusion team leverages it for all of their D&I-related communications, including blogs and content on Shaw’s internal and external websites, award submissions, and external communications. Marketing & Communications teams and Shaw’s employee resource groups are beginning to leverage it for blogs, emails, and internal website content.

Celebrating early success

Less than a year into their use of Textio, Shaw and its employees are already starting to see results. Using Textio has improved their candidate communications, with recruiters feeling more confident in the recruiting mails and job posts they are writing. Internal metrics also show that Shaw has been more effective at reaching a broad group of candidates.

While there is still work to be done, it’s important to stop and recognize what the team has been able to accomplish in a short amount of time. Shaw is known for their workplace culture, and now, with the help of Textio, candidates know what makes Shaw a great place to work. Congratulations, Shaw!