Part of any retention puzzle is understanding the role that company culture plays in keeping your employees in the fold. Since having to hire again is a costly endeavor, it makes sense to evaluate cultural fit before hiring any new employee. Here are some ways to tell if a candidate will mesh with your company’s culture.
What is Cultural Fit?
Cultural fit isn’t just about whether you’d want to throw darts in a pub after work with a potential hire. It’s more about whether the individual will be in alignment with the company’s core values and collective behaviors. If they are in alignment, they are more likely to stay and be a productive member of your team.
So what’s the next step?
Tip #1: Define your company’s culture
What are the values and practices that define how you do business? Once you determine this, make sure that HR, your marketing materials, website and internal recruitment team communicate these values clearly and consistently.
Tip #2: Incorporate Cultural Fit into Your Job Postings
One of the most costly hiring mistakes is not using a job posting to attract the right kind of talent. Incorporate your company’s culture into your job postings. Use the pronoun “you” and speak directly to the kind of person you’re trying to attract. For example, “You have an entrepreneurial spirit and believe that communicating collaboratively can win the day. But what separates you from the rest of the pack is your unwavering commitment to continuous improvement.” These 2 sentences communicate some key messaging about your organization’s culture and could spark the interest of someone who is a fit. And since emotion engages buying behavior, your chances of talent taking the next step and applying to your role are suddenly much higher.
Read “Hiring Mistakes: Accounting Job Postings” for more tips on how to write job postings that reach the right candidates.
Tip #3: Ask Behavioral Questions
Ask behavioral questions in the interview that incorporate your core values. For example, if your organization prizes collaborative communication and teamwork you could ask, “Explain a time when you had to create buy-in with your team members. What did you do?” Additionally, questions that evaluate emotional IQ will be particularly enlightening when it comes to cultural fit.
Tip #4: Involve Your Employees
Firstly, think carefully about your team and its mix of personalities. What is the team’s natural working style? How would someone fit into that? If you identify a candidate of choice that you particularly like during the interview, invite them to tour the office. Introduce them to key team members and watch how they interact. Consider involving a team lead in your interview process to gain valuable feedback regarding your potential hire.
Read: For more information on why company culture matters and how to build an environment that attracts and retains top talent read this article from Forbes.
Key Takeaways
Hiring is a complicated process, but it’s critical that you evaluate a candidate’s cultural fit and not just their technical abilities. Carefully define your company’s culture and make sure that all messaging is consistent around your organization’s values and practices. Incorporate your core values into your job postings to help attract the right kind of talent who can mesh with the natural working style of your team. Involve your employees in the process and make sure to ask interview questions that evaluate cultural fit. Ultimately, when technical and cultural alignment come together in a candidate, you have a candidate who will be an asset for your organization.
Your Next Step
No one should walk the job search or hiring road alone. At Clarity Recruitment we help others realize their success through a process that marries proprietary technology with unwavering commitment. Contact us today to take control of your career, or to partner with us to hire well.
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