Employees who fit in well with their company culture stay longer than those who don’t. Hiring for cultural fit can be one of the smartest strategies for boosting productivity and reducing employee turnover. Finding someone whose values match the company culture is just as important as choosing the candidate with the right skills. So how can a hiring manager figure out whether or not a person will fit?
Define Your Core Values Before You Begin Recruiting
Before you begin recruiting for a new position, you must have a strong understanding of your company’s core values. The term “company culture” is a way of describing how workers behave and interact with each other as a group. It is influenced by many factors, including your company’s values, policies, and style of leadership. Begin by assessing your own company culture and coming up with a list of qualities that are shared by the members of your team.
Company Culture and Employee Retention
If you put on a pair of shoes that are too small for your feet, the pain you feel will lead you to kick them off pretty quickly. When a company hires a team member who doesn’t fit, both sides tend to feel the pain, so the relationship is often short lived. That is why hiring for cultural fit is so important for long-term retention. A recent survey conducted by the staffing agency Office Team revealed that 66% of Human Resources Managers they polled agreed that a staff member had left their company because they turned out to be a bad fit with the company culture. Here are 4 tips on how to avoid that problem by effectively evaluating how well job seekers match your values.
1. Look for signs of cultural fit before you meet face to face.
Emails and phone conversations reveal a lot about whether a person will fit with your company culture. Look and listen for signs of character and temperament. These signals can indicate whether the candidate is likely to match your culture and the demands of the job.
For example, if your company values enthusiasm and you are hiring for a receptionist job that requires a cheery demeanor, listen for signs of optimism and positive energy in their voice and in their word choices. Emails can reveal whether a candidate pays great attention to detail (proofreading really counts). If your office values professionalism and you are are hiring for an Administrative Assistant position that requires excellent communication skills—do they show those qualities verbally and in writing?
2. Ask the right interview questions.
Before the interview, identify which of your core values will be absolutely critical for success in the position you are hiring for. Ask questions during the interview that will help you evaluate the candidate on those specific values.
For example, manufacturers often need workers who are proven team players. Teamwork is a core value that people must hold in order to succeed in many assembly line jobs. Even though you have their work experience written on a resume—during the interview process focus on questions about teamwork and look for details. Ask them to tell you a story about a time when teamwork contributed to their own personal growth. A story can reveal a lot about their approach to teamwork.
3. Bring job seekers in for a working interview.
The working interview is growing in popularity because this arrangement gives both employers and job seekers a chance to see how well they work together without making a long-term commitment. A working interview is when a candidate works a shift, typically between 4 and 8 hours, before the client decides whether or not to let you have the assignment. This is an opportunity to see a candidate’s personality and find out how well they interact with other team members while testing their skills in action.
4. A staffing agency can help.
At Friday Services, we have 35 years of experience matching candidates and employers. We have found that if it doesn’t work for both, it isn’t going to work. Our mission is to bring the right person to the right job every time. We have found that listening is one of the most important skills to finding a candidate that fits an employer’s company culture. We listen to employers to find out about your values, and the things that matter most to you most. We listen to employees to find out what kind of work environment they are looking for, to help set them up for success. Contact the Friday Services team if you need help finding the right candidate for your job.
Sources
http://roundpegg.com/culture-research/culture-fit-reduces-turnover
http://www.idealcandidate.com/why-job-fit-matters-how-to-reduce-turnover-by-assessing-cultural-fit
