From experience and skills to location and salaries, there are many things to consider when recruiting new staff. One thing not often considered is how well employees will fit into the day-to-day life of a business’s working environment.
What is company culture?
“Company culture” seems to be one of those buzzwords agencies like to throw around without much thought into what it means and what it can do for your business. Company culture encompasses the attitudes, behaviors and values of your company and its employees. A significant part of your culture is the types of team-building exercises you run, external activities for staff and the employee benefits you provide like free coffee or celebrations for staff birthdays.
More traditional employers may believe that employees are paid to work and nothing more, but investing in company culture can see a considerable return on investment in terms of retention and turnover rates.
A good cultural fit can save your business a lot of money. The average employer spends around £3000 and 27.5 days to hire a new worker. By hiring someone who doesn’t share the same work ethic, values around collaboration and common purpose, you’re risking your budget, team morale and overall business productivity.
How do you hire for company culture?
A recent study by the Robert Walters Group found that 87% of employers offer induction to new staff on company culture and values. Yet, two-thirds of professionals feel they’ve been misled about company culture during their induction.
Many recruitment experts agree that dedicating a stage of the interview process to assessing cultural fit is necessary for an effective recruitment strategy. This process can include work-specific questions and those that concern who they are outside of the office. The types of questions to ask when evaluating a candidate for cultural fit include:
- What does your typical weekend consist of?
- What values are important to you as a person?
- What is your ideal workplace?
- What type of team do you thrive in?
- What do you know about our company culture and values?
Many candidates want to know about company culture before accepting a job offer. Employers should emphasize company culture in job adverts, create a page on the company website detailing company values and even set up a meeting with members of your staff so they can get to know you.
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It would also be beneficial for employers to use review sites like Glassdoor to see how previous employees rate working for the business. By doing this, you’re engaging in the recruitment process and gaining a benchmark to see how you can evolve your culture for new hires.
When a new staff member is hired, it’s essential for HR or their manager to schedule a meeting within their first month in the role to find out how they feel they fit in. Showing you care about their enjoyment of the role and the workplace environment makes the employee more likely to stay.
Recruitment has not been easy over the past few years, but by focusing on the benefits, you can provide for candidates is a great way to attract the right talent.
Ultimately, it’s essential to remember that company culture isn’t stagnant. Employing new staff leads to changing social dynamics and, therefore, a changing culture for which you need to find suitable candidates. By consistently surveying and evolving your values, you can ensure you stay ahead of the recruiting game.
