This is part three of a three part series on developing a strong company culture. Read part one and part two.
In the first two installments of this series on developing a strong company culture, we discussed the importance of developing your core values and how to use them to build an effective mission statement your employees can rally behind. In this final piece, we’ll discuss why keeping those core values and your mission statement top of mind during the hiring process is so vital to building a positive and sustainable company culture.
Why is it so important to hire for culture?
According to a recent study by Deloitte, 94% of executives and 88% of employees say workplace culture is important to success. Company culture is the collective behavior of the people in the organization and the driving force behind the spirit in which they approach the work they do each day. A company’s most valuable asset is its people. And once you’ve put in the time, money, and hard work to ensure they’re an engaged, productive team working to achieve company goals, you don’t want to upset that balance.
Adding a new employee to an already high-performing team is bound to cause some disruption in the beginning. But, if you’ve put in your due diligence during the hiring process and not only looked at a job candidate’s resume, but also whether or not they would fit the company’s culture, you’ll be taking an important step toward ensuring productivity stays on track and your workforce is engaged.
So, where do you start?
When it comes down to it, communication is the key. Communicating to your hiring manager about what you’re looking for in a candidate. Communicating to potential candidates about the qualities they must possess in order to be a good fit. And, communication with your current employees about the kind of person they feel would make the strongest addition to the team. And while there are many ways to vet a new hire, here are a few thoughts to help get you started.
Define the ideal candidate
If you don’t know what you’re looking for, it’s going to be difficult to find it. Knowing what characteristics, skills, and attributes the ideal job candidate should possess in order to be a successful, productive member of the team is imperative. Taking an “I’ll know it when I see it” approach to hiring can result in a lot of wasted time interviewing the wrong candidates that could be better spent getting to know the right one. Think about the requirements of the position and the personality types and work ethic that are best suited for it. With a clear understanding of what you want, you’ll be better prepared to engage a candidate who fits the mold.
Get everyone involved
In many workplaces, adding a new employee can often feel like adding a new member to your family. So, it can be beneficial to include your current employees in the hiring process. Whether it’s picking key employees to interview the candidate or holding an informal roundtable meet-and-greet with your whole team, seeing how a potential new employee interacts with current employees can help ensure a stronger cultural fit.
Write effective job descriptions
The first line of defense against interviewing job candidates who may have the necessary experience, but don’t quite fit your culture, is a well-written job description. It’s important to not only describe the required skills and expertise it takes to do the job, but also the environment in which it will be done. Give job seekers a little insight into your culture and let them know what they may be getting themselves into before they pursue an open position.
Ensure hiring managers are properly trained
Interviewing can be a lot more difficult than some might think. Anyone can ask questions and have a conversation with a job candidate, but an experienced hiring manager is trained to pull out the key pieces of information that help develop the most accurate assessment of whether or not an applicant is right for the job. When you’re ready to start the process of filling an open position, it’s important to have a discussion with your hiring manager to ensure everyone is on the same page about exactly the kind of person you’re looking for.
Ask questions that are relevant to your culture
This one may be the most obvious, but not necessarily the easiest. If you want to know whether or not a job candidate is right for your culture, you have to ask questions that will elicit the most honest and genuine answers. There’s really not a “one-size-fits-all-companies” question. It’s important to think about your own culture and what’s most important to you in a new employee. Then, craft questions around those characteristics to get the information you need to make a hiring decision. Some sample questions may include:
- Describe your ideal work environment.
- Describe your relationship with the best boss you’ve ever had.
- What kind of relationship do you expect to have with your co-workers?
- What characteristics are most important for the company’s senior leadership to possess?
- Describe your work style.
- What role do you typically play when working on a team project?
This three part series on developing a strong company culture only scratches the surface. There are many other factors involved, and in the end, as with many things in business and in life, you’ll only get out what you put in. If you’re truly committed to creating an environment where your employees are not only engaged in their individual jobs, but in the work the company does as a whole, the only outcome is a stronger, more productive future for your business.
How do you discover whether or not a job candidate would be a good cultural fit? Let us know in the comments section below.
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