Our Values

Driven by ambition

It's our goal to make a real difference in whatever we do. We’re redefining traditional processes by building meaningful and relevant solutions.

A big heart

Xref has a big heart - we have an unwavering passion for success. We put people first with our solution and in our workplace.

Positively charged

We are positively charged, with an incessant desire to succeed. We believe in challenging the status quo and providing extreme value.

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Our Vision 

To make it easier for the world to hire and track talent throughout their journey. Trusted and credible, Xref offers one source of reliable, data-driven truth with actionable insights for all stages of the talent lifecycle.

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Our Mission 

To empower organisations with people-driven insights to hire talent, monitor their sentiment and store long-lasting corporate memory when that talent leaves.

By removing manual processes, we place an easy-to-use, automated platform at the fingertips of professionals globally for the purpose of hiring top talent, retaining good performers and gaining tangible insights on attrition.

Tone of voice 

Core principles 

Considered

Our audience and their situation is at the forefront of all communication decisions.

Thought leaders

We are proud to be the expert in our field but things move rapidly and we are still learning. We like to inform ourselves with other experts where possible.

Consistent 

The “Xref voice” can be heard in every engagement.

Fun, personable, but professional:

We take the value we add seriously, not ourselves. We keep our communication light and if needed, explain technical jargon plainly. We use intelligent, but everyday language. 

Insightful and inquisitive:

‍We are data-driven and we share our knowledge at every opportunity but we are always looking to learn more.

Writing tips

For every piece of content, ask yourself: 

• Does it sound like a real person has written it? 
• Is this suitable in terms of the audience/market conditions/timing?
• Is the copy free of political views/opinions? 
• Could anything in the copy be deemed harmful to another person? 
• Does it present Xref as a brand at the forefront of the HR tech industry? 
• Does it (where appropriate) demonstrate the Xref personality - fun, passionate heartfelt? 
• Does it (where appropriate) call on the expertise of outside sources to complement or add to the expertise we offer? 
• Does it position Xref as a forward-thinking brand with a vision for the future? 

Xref style preferences

• Xref is a proper noun - it’s all one word, with a capital at the beginning, no other variations.
• Our business is singular - always use “Xref IS…” not “Xref ARE…”
• Our default spelling is to be kept in Australian English, American spelling is for North American content only.
• Write in sentence case including headings for example ‘How to boost your employer brand’ rather than ‘How to Boost Your Employer Brand’. This will maintain consistency with the platform. 
• Use ‘and’ over ‘&’ - the ampersand doesn't always render the best because the symbol is used in coding. 
• Ensure grammatical accuracy for the sake of the brand. Investors are reading all public content, so we want them to take our content and us, seriously.

Social media is a large part of how we share our brand with our customers. Channels we use include LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. We have a solid and valuable presence both as a brand and on an individual level with all of our people. 

Why do we need social media guidelines? 

Social media guidelines help us: 

1. Maintain the consistency of our brand
2. Protect Xref’s reputation
3. Empower our people to produce and share great content

We have written these guidelines, not to inhibit your creativity, but to provide guidance around creating great social content. 

Summary

We understand that reading these guidelines might be time-consuming, so here are some key points that can help you on your way:

DO:

• ‍Like, comment and/or share posts that marketing have already posted on Xref social channels. 
• Only share things already published on the website. If you hear new information that hasn’t been publicly shared, please speak to Marketing first. 
• Remember that we are publicly listed. This means we have a professional, corporate reputation to uphold.
• Be respectful and accountable - be careful when adding pictures of other people and consider that everything you say can be traced back to Xref.  

DON’T:

• ‍‍Post confidential information. This may include information released at an ‘all-hands’ meeting or information that is part of an Investor report/presentation
• Post about clients we have recently won. It’s easy for them to be poached by competitors.
• Post low-quality images (such as screenshots) or images/logos that use old branding 
• Link the Xref brand to negativity - eg redundancy 

Remember: You can always ask for help if you are unsure.

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Our social media policy: 

Social media has been around for a while, so we’re all pretty adept at it but, there are differences between presenting an opinion as an individual versus a brand. 

• We welcome an active and engaged staff presence on our social media channels. 
• We want to empower our people to post, engage and repost content where relevant. 
• We are a public company. There is public information and private information. 

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Our social media strategy reflects our values:

• Driven by ambition - We are an innovative, award-winning company. Global leaders in reference checking
• A big heart - we are people-focused. Always considering how we present ourselves, our people and our customers. Where possible, we like to feature faces. 
• Positively charged - we use positive language in every single post

Our social media strategy that takes into account the activities across the whole business from development to employer brand. 

Each month, Marketing creates a theme for our social media calendar so that we have consistency throughout and something that ties all our posts together. This means we have an overarching topic or idea that is built into each post. For example, January’s theme is typically ‘New Year’s resolutions’, or ‘getting ahead in the New Year’. For October, the theme might be ‘Cybersecurity Awareness Month’. This theme underpins what we post each month and what we say in each piece of content.

To stay closer to the Xref brand, you can also choose to align your post to our theme for the month. You’ll notice that we don’t call out our theme - it’s subtle. If you would like guidance on your posts, speak to Marketing about the theme for the month. 

Our social media style:

• The language we use is carefully curated. The ‘Xref voice’ is fun, inclusive and light. We are a positive brand that avoids negative language. Some examples of words to avoid when tagging or talking about Xref include fraud, acquisition, redundancy, psychological safety.  
• All of our staff are considered representatives of the Xref/ Voice brand. Everything you say can and will be traced back to us. You also impact your colleagues with your words. 
• We are thought-leaders focusing on benefits and how Xref can help. 

Privacy and confidentiality 

• Keep in mind that not everyone wants to be featured on social media and everyone has their own personal brand. Privacy is important. Always check with someone before posting their image or tagging them. 
• Do not post confidential information. This may include information released at an ‘all-hands’ meeting or during an Investor presentation for example. Please wait for marketing to post on our Xref channels and take guidance from there. 

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DO:

• Like and share posts that marketing have already posted. This allows you to stay on brand with our messaging, monthly theme and images.
• Be respectful and take action if someone should ask you to remove or change your social media posts. Better still, instead of having to delete a post, seek approval beforehand. 
• Consider how your post will be viewed. Before posting, read your content multiple times. Not just for spelling and grammatical errors, but to make sure that the message you plan to share, has the same meaning when being read by someone else. Sometimes what we intend to say is not interpreted as we hope and reading our copy a few times can assist. 
• Call attention to all the great things we are doing. 
• Keep it high quality and classy. As a best-in-class solution, we need to maintain our corporate image. 
• Share top-quality, on-brand images. If you have doubts, reach out to Marketing for assistance. We are very happy to help. 
• Before posting on social media, pause and think - does this post look and feel the best representation of myself and Xref? If you have doubts, reach out to Marketing. 
• Keep to the brand colours. 
• Check with marketing if you're sending any logo/s for event sponsorships
• Put yourself in the reader’s shoes. Use your best judgement, and consider how your post will be received by others on social media. Are you the best person to communicate that information? Do your colleagues want to be portrayed that way?
• Be accountable. Anything and everything you say can be traced back to you and the Xref brand.

DON'T: 

• Please do not post content with old branding or old logos.
• Do not post investor-related content on social media. Lee has requested we have a strict division between investors and customers. This means no investor presentation screenshots on social media. 
• Post about customers we have recently won. Marketing post about established clients who are loyal to us and have had good experiences. Content about customers is always thought-leadership or testimonial style. 
• Use website screenshots. Ask Marketing for on-brand images that reflect our website
• Link the Xref brand to negative outcomes - eg redundancy 
• Call out things we ‘don’t do’. You may not be aware of efforts being made in this space. 
• Post about something just because it’s hot, new information and you haven’t seen Xref post yet. It can be tempting to be first to reveal the latest insights but there are always strategies in play and often an important reason behind why Xref posts things at certain times. 
• Make grand, sweeping or controversial statements. Always do your research and refer back to it where necessary.
• Hard sell - especially if tagging Xref or Voice. This is not the voice of our brand. We are thought-leaders. 

Creating new content:

• Remain positive - our brand is positive-focused 
• Use emojis to keep your post fun, but do not go overboard
• Talk about ourselves in the first person for example “At Xref, we….”
• Our brand voice is friendly, smart, confident (but not arrogant) and helpful, so you can be too.
• Stop and think, ‘if I haven’t seen a post from Xref, should I do this?’ And ‘is what I am about to say something Xref would say?’
• For the safety of others and to maintain the trust of all of our people, please be mindful of what images and videos you share via all social channels.
• When posting images with your content, remember the goal is to always keep it relevant and classy. 
• Remember with all content, make sure it meets the Xref standard of top quality. That means correct size formatting and no pixelation or poor-resolution images.
• Remember that your social media represents our brand. We have investors. Stay polite and informed. 
• If you have seen a new blog post or case study you would like to share, please chat to Marketing. Our monthly calendar is highly flexible so together we can work out the best time and messaging for maximum reach. 

If in doubt, please reach out to Annalise, Sorrel or any of the Marketing team and we can assist you. The Marketing team won’t draft social media posts for you, but we can offer guidance and support so you can adjust your own posts and learn over time how to be most effective, impactful, appropriate and on-brand. 

Photography guidelines 

XREF is human-focused, so our photos are too. It's important to us that when communicating through photography the attitude of the XREF brand is clear. Photography should primarily be in situ and include faces with positive expressions, while avoiding faces and poses that feel stock-like or forced. The environment or scene should feel candid, with neutral, natural lighting, avoiding a clinical, cold feel.

XREF is an international brand, so our photos reflect this, including a diverse range of people from all kinds of backgrounds. These people should be wearing semi-casual to casual attire while still feeling polished or not ‘scrappy’. It is important that we reflect a more realistic, post-pandemic and modern workforce and avoid stereotypical representations of an office worker.

• Images cannot look too cheesy.
• Avoid filtered images.
• Stay away from any that look too fake/staged.

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Illustration guidelines 

A set of 2D and 3D shapes have been defined for use. These assets are simple, block-like, and in most cases, derived from an arrow, or an X-like form, to evoke a similar form to the Xref logo. Rounded edges have been used to soften and modernise the brand feeling, creating some contrast from the sharp form of the Xref logo. For each of these shape sets, certain guides have been set to ensure they are used consistently, whilst also allowing for flexibility, keeping the brand executions feeling fresh.

External to these defined shapes, general illustration is not to be used in brand executions.

Things to avoid

• Cluttered, overlapping 2D shapes
• Using shapes in outline form (to be used very sparingly)
• Stay away from any that look too fake/staged.

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2D Shapes

The Xref 2D shapes have been defined and ordered into three sets: Core, for key brand imagery that leans to a more professional audience or serious tone, and most closely evokes the X or arrow logo form. Secondary, to be used for more casual and playful use cases, and allow for a cleaner masking of imagery in their squarer forms. And Logo Sequence, which is to be tested.

These 2D shapes may be used in a variety of ways, including: as a background element, in large block form or repeating pattern, behind iconography and numbers as a housing element, or as a mask or frame for photography, to create dynamic, branded imagery. Examples of these 2D shapes in use may be seen in Brand in Use, and Combination Guidelines.

3D Shapes

A rendered set of simple, 3D shapes have been created for use in the Xref brand. These shapes are derived from the same forms as the defined 2D shapes above, and rendered across the spectrum of the colour palette, in opaque and semi-opaque glass textures as a callback to the Xref windows brand concept. The 3D shapes have a more specific, reserved use case - only to be used at key brand landmark points, for specific use cases, see Combination Guidelines.

In order to utlise the 3D shape pack, you will need to use blend modes to achieve opacity, such as screen & multiply. Adding slight light and dark gradient shadows and light refractions can help to create a more dynamic composition when multiple 3d shapes are employed.

Product icons

For product iconography we developed a set of three custom icons that represent Xref products (Reference, Pulse and Exit). When using thesse icons for corporate materials or promotions for specific products, must be used in either a circle or rounded square variation. The circle variant icon should be placed onto darker or lighter colours, whereas the rounded square variant will only work with a dark background. Outside of these variants, icons should be partnered with a colour block or shape to provide contrast and visual interest to the icon.

When scaling logos up or down a consistent stroke line thickness should be considered. An example of this can be seen in the difference of line thickness between icons sized to 18px (stroke weight of 1 px) and 36px (stroke weight of 1.5 px).

UI Iconography

For in product iconography we utilise an open source icon-pack called Phosphor. When using these icons in platform, they must be used in the ‘Duotone’ varient and the fill & stroke colour must be the same at all times. Icons must fall on a 2pt grid, and where possible should fall within a 4pt grid. Typical sizes used in the platform to date are displayed.

When scaling icons up or down a consistent stroke line thickness should be considered. An example of this can be seen in the difference of line thickness between icons sized to 18px (stroke weight of 1 px) and 36px (stroke weight of 1.5 px).

Iconography beyond platform

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Social media & brand icons (simple)

For simple iconography we utilise an open source icon-pack called Phosphor. When using these icons in socials or corporate materials, they must be used in the ‘Regular’ variant with no fill. Icons should be partnered with a colour block or shape to provide contrast and visual interest to the icon. When scaling logos up or down a consistant stroke line thickness should be considered. An example of this can be seen in the difference of line thickness between icons sized to 18px (stroke weight of 1 px) and 36px (stroke weight of 1.5 px).

Platform features & Brand pillar icons

For feature iconography we utilise an open source icon-pack called Phosphor. When using these icons in socials or corporate materials, they must be used in the ‘Fill’ variant and use one to two complimentary colours from the colour palette, in addition to the box. Icons should be partnered with a colour block or shape to provide contrast and visual interest to the icon.

When scaling logos up or down a consistant stroke line thickness should be considered. An example of this can be seen in the difference of line thickness between icons sized to 18px (stroke weight of 1 px) and 36px (stroke weight of 1.5 px).

Product shot guidelines 

It’s important to showcase our product to prospects, there are a number of product shots available for candidates, referees and employers.

We have built up a visual language through the website that reflects the type of product shot. See example below for how these work.

• Don’t increase image size as this will cause pixelation.
• Make sure there’s content in relation to the screens.
• Don’t use outdated screens.
• Don’t add heavy drop shadows to the screens.

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Solutions & Use cases

When discussing the Xref product in relation to specific use cases, we utlise a combination of UI segments, and masked photographs of people.

Platform

When discussing broad platform level items, we utilise full UI shots, with 3D brand shapes as secondary background elements.

Platform features

When discussing specific platform features, we utilise segments of the UI, masked into 2D shapes.

Integration guidelines

Better together. We love our integration partners, so what better way to showcase our powerful HR solutions than with in-platform screenshots?  

• Don’t increase image size as this will cause pixelation.
• Product shots must be sanitised - no real data.
• Make sure the screens aren’t outdated.
• Don’t add additional drop shadows to the screens.

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