9 May 2022 1:07 pmThe ‘Meet the Team’ page is one of the most important, yet feared, pages on business websites. On the one hand, it's great to show off the wonderful members of your work family. On the other, many businesses seem unwilling to do so, citing concerns of industrial poaching.
What Is a ‘Meet the Team’ page?
Put simply, a ‘Meet the Team’ page is a page on your website, often within the ‘About Us’ section, that lists the members of staff in your company. Some just include names and job titles, some include a ‘headshot’ style picture, and some even include a bio and / or social media links.
Some businesses find this hugely important. Law companies and private medical practices are business types where an individual’s name and reputation can be a strong draw for clients.
On the flip-side, some businesses have legitimate security concerns that might prevent them from displaying team members. This is certainly true in the security business itself, for example personal security guards.
Finally, there are businesses that struggle to recruit good staff and so are then frightened to display their details for fear of them being poached by competitors.
Outside of companies where security concerns exist, and based on our work in various sectors, showing your team on your website is generally the right thing to do. With that in mind, here’s five great reasons to proudly put your team out there for the world to see.
People Buy People
Unless you’re a relatively faceless online retailer, customers like to know exactly who they’ll be dealing with. Products, brands and even companies come and go but people remain. In the example of law firms and medical practitioners, many clients will follow a person to a new employer when they move as they’re already comfortable working with that practitioner and they are already aware of personal details.
In the sector we work in most (Smart Home, HiFi and Home Cinema) it's common for company employees to visit clients’ homes. In this situation a small photo and the name of each of your staff members on your website is a great way to ‘normalise’ those visitors and for homeowners to check their credentials when they first arrive at the front door.
To Shorten Contact Times
When it comes to business communication, clear and simple is always best. Most of us don’t remember phone numbers or email addresses these days, so we check company websites to get those details. This can be made much easier when a list of actual people, their job roles and their contact details are displayed on your website. This one act can shorten contact times, reduce frustration and give a much better impression of a company than a single phone number, email or contact form. This is especially true when a difficult situation needs to be resolved. If you want to make things even easier for your callers, why not duplicate the most important customer-facing team members (sales, accounts, support etc.) on your contact page? A good website CMS (Content Management System) will let you do this without entering the staff information twice.
To Show the Full Skills & Capabilities of The Company
We’re all good at different things, have different qualifications and experiences. A well-rounded team can cope with any challenge and that’s a message that potential clients and existing customers want to hear.
It shouldn't matter who I need to deal with (sales, purchasing, accounts etc.) I want to know who I need to speak to and why they are the right person. Showing relevant certifications, experience and key work-history details can all lead to added confidence in your team for the website visitor.
Because You’re a Team
This one is, perhaps, obvious but is so often ignored. If you hired someone and you’re happy with their contribution to your business, then it's only right to show the world you work as a team. It will help them feel like a significant member of a work family, legitimise their contribution to the outside world and confirm their authority in acting for the company.
These considerations are especially important if, up to now, you’ve only listed the ‘important people’ on your website. This approach leads to division and a feeling of ‘us and them’. It can also put doubt in the mind of people outside the company when they communicate with your staff. After all, if your company doesn't feel an employee’s contribution is worthy of mention on your website, why should they feel comfortable dealing with such a ‘lowly’ employee?
The Information Is Out There Anyway
If you haven’t noticed, your staff more than likely have LinkedIn profiles where they list their current employer and their job title. A simple search for your company name will display current and former employees. Head-hunters and other recruitment professionals use LinkedIn like a bible of potential job candidates, so if you think you can ‘hide’ your staff members from competitors, sorry but you’ve already lost that battle.
So, there you have it. In our view, putting your team members on your website has few, if any, downsides - but a stack of powerful benefits. If you need help creating a ‘Meet the Team’ page then just let us know. As always, if you have views or questions on this subject, please do get in touch.
