Company Culture
Company culture is a huge selling point for organisations today. To put it plainly, it’s a component that defines an establishment’s public and internal reputation. Company cultures can either make or break a firm; research regards them as pillars on which companies rise above every other establishment in a given industry.
When job seekers are looking to join an organisation, the company culture statistically emerges as the top factor that influences an applicant’s decision when picking a job over another. And that is not surprising because, in most cases, it’s not “what” an employer offers that drives interest, but how an employer internally manages staff and runs company operations.
While job applicants are more particular about the company culture of a particular organisation, company owners or hiring managers on the other hand place emphasis on hiring applicants who are culture-fit. Hiring managers believe that for employees that aren’t a culture fit, their level of commitment to the company will be relatively low. This means it’s not simply a trending phenomenon, this is actually a vital part of company life.
Considering an apparent disparity in how company culture impacts job seekers and companies, this article addresses these concerns and provides insights to help hire managers shape their culture and hiring processes.
What makes up a company culture?
Culture may seem hard to define, but critically examining most notable and successful companies, it is evident they are aware of what culture means to them. Based on observations, a company culture is composed of an organisation’s beliefs, values, customs, and social interactions between employers and employees.
Why is a company culture of great significance to job seekers?
Job seekers are increasingly conscious of company culture when weighing the options and career benefits provided by firms. A company’s culture may play an essential role in shaping an employee’s sense of fulfilment.
Highlighted below are the reasons job seekers consider a company culture:
- To understand if a given company culture encourages people to showcase their creativity
- To be precise about how employees are encouraged to work.
- To be sure if a specific culture meets their financial, emotional, and psychological wellness.
How can organisations create a positive culture?
Good company culture creates a social and enjoyable atmosphere for employees and employers. Whether through participation in team-bonding activities like games, sports, or communication of goals, a great company culture invites people to want to be there and enjoy the experience.
But how can you achieve this in your organisation?
Here are six tips on how to do just that:
- Show concern for employee wellness
- Create team goals and objectives that everyone can work towards
- Encourage social interactions amongst employees
- Help everyone enjoy the freedom to share opinions
- Be approachable
- Ensure your company’s handbook is flexible enough to make adjustments based on employee feedback
To create a productive and happy workforce, organisations must foster an environment that encourages individuality. While this may prove challenging to achieve in a world where company owners value productivity and efficiency, an organisation can achieve this by recognising the importance of each employee’s uniqueness.
How can organisations hire for culture-fit?
Humans are culture-driven. There is a need for hiring managers to source for talents who exhibit such consciousness. Here are a few steps to successfully hiring people who would easily fit a company’s culture.
- Define what it means to be culturally compatible. Source people with a positive attitude and fundamental principles similar to the company. Could a culture-driven recruitment approach be the key to attracting and maintaining skilled employees?
- It is ideal to portray a company culture in all advertising materials for public consumption. Most importantly, giving applicants a chance to question your company culture wouldn’t hurt a fly during interviews. This way, hiring managers stand a chance to analyse feedback and revise a culture where or if needed.
- Hiring managers should treat job applicants as potential clients. While at it, studying their attitude, facial expressions and ability to think logically during an interview will be of great importance to hiring managers.
Remember, your goal as a hiring manager is to hire people familiar with your company’s culture and whose skills align with your values.
In the quest of hiring a culture-fit, should organisations turn blind eyes to a cultural-add?
Firms generally operate off the assumption of hiring candidates who fit their culture. Once they’ve made this decision, they never shift gears to consider those people who, in some way, might think or act differently than the rest of the staff. Even worse, firms exclude those deemed as cultural-adds thinking they will “muddy” things up.
Will a cultural-add foster diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, even more importantly, spur innovation? Hiring those who are culture-fit only creates an ecosystem where employees think and act the same. So rather than employing candidates who are a perfect fit, organisations should keep an eye out for cultural adds.
Conclusively, company culture is not just another meaningless corporate buzzword; it is a big deal. A culture promotes a firm and gives a workplace a more significant edge over competitors.
We recommend that you seek strategies to strengthen your corporate culture and experiment with the tips we’ve shared in this article. To learn more about how you can win your job candidates through your company culture, contact us at daniel@studio14online.co.uk to chat with our hiring manager.