L’Oréal  is a global leader in cosmetics, beauty and grooming with companies in more than 70 countries representing over 130 product lines.  The company is highly revered as a desired place to work and has  been awarded with several “top employer” awards  globally from various respected entities including Forbes magazine , Glassdoor  and Montréal’s Top Employers .   There are several factors that have contributed to this top employer recognition, one of which is the strong, positive corporate culture they’ve manifested through employee engagement and empowerment via social media.    Although counterintuitive for many companies, L’Oréal has embraced the use of social media by it employees.  In fact, it encourages it.  Social media for most companies is perceived as a distraction and a hindrance to productivity.  As a result, social media policy is typically created with the objective of restricting its usage.    Conversely, L’Oréal, views social media  policy as an opportunity to enlighten employees on its benefits and an opportunity to shed light on the tools and tactics that can be applied to use it effectively to shape desired behaviours.   

Humankind has an obvious desire to connect with others. To share our lives with one another and feel like we are part of something. The search to find a place of connection and belonging is a common and relatable subject, just look to movies and television to see the reoccurring theme. That theme, that sense of connecting with others also carries into the workplace. Companies and organizations are pushing to create workplaces that engage employees and provide them an environment where they can feel connected. According to Deloitte’s 2015 Global Human Capital Trends survey, the biggest challenge companies are facing around the world is employee engagement and culture issues (Brown, Chheng, Melian & Solow, 2015). Engagement corresponds closely with retention as employers fight to compare to the images of companies like Google and Facebook. A quick online search of ‘corporate culture’ results in an extraordinarily long list of articles, blogs and research pieces, one that I often research myself as an employee seeking improve the workplace culture within my own company. What makes a great corporate culture? How does it become an integrated part of the employee mentality, instead of simply a talking point?