Getting Real With Roses

Demonstrate Company Culture for Better Hiring

When it comes to hiring, skills are a critical component but retaining a hire for the long term necessitates finding someone who’s a good fit with the company culture. Unlike certifications, degrees and skills, culture is less tangible and can be harder to spot. Determining a culture fit is one of those things you know it when you see it and a bad fit becomes downright glaring. If you’re looking to hire generations Y and Z, remember company culture is a decision maker or breaker.

What’s Changed
As Baby Boomers begin to retire, younger generations become more influential in how businesses hire. This began with Generation X looking for employment with work-life balance. The trend continues with Millennials and Generations Y and Z who prioritize joining a company that fits the employee’s needs rather than assimilating into a current workplace and its rules.

Defining Culture
The task of articulating company culture is nebulous with one company’s work-life balance differing from another, and unique standards from industry to industry. When it comes to hiring, what you put out is what you get back. Therefore, it’s important to communicate company culture in the hiring process. A job description becomes an opportunity to share examples of how current employees live and thrive within the company and how the job contributes to the culture. The job description is a way to attract candidates already in tune with values a company deems important.

Assess through Questions
Finding the right fit includes some digging so it’s important to engage candidates in an open conversation rather than in a scripted interview. Getting away from the standard script allows both the interviewer and candidate to participate in a conversation. Open-ended questions such as “Why do you want to work here?” and “What inspires you?” allow candidates to provide responses in way that demonstrates their interests and personality.

Jumping-Off Points

  • What are your hobbies?
  • What type of culture do you thrive in?
  • Describe yourself in three words.
  • What values are you drawn to?
  • What’s your ideal workplace?
  • What do you like about your current position?
  • What do you dislike about your current position?
  • How do you define success?
  • Who are you beyond the resume?

Show and Share
Interviews are also an opportunity to include key team members in the decision-making process. Remember, these are the people who will be working with the candidate on a day-to-day basis and their opinions are critical. Team members will also be able to speak to the realities of the department expectations and the overall company culture. This assessment should also include an opportunity to see areas such as the break room, open or collaborative spaces and recreational areas. It’s also a time for candidates to interact with future peers and co-workers. In the best-case scenario, it’s a way to hire unique individuals who share likeminded goals, vision and values. It is not a method for creating an organization where everyone thinks and behaves in the same way.

This article is brought to you by Staffing Kansas City, a full-service Kansas City employment agency that provides contract-to-hire, direct hire and temporary employment placement services.