Hiring to Make the Right Culture
Many elements contribute to a strong company culture. If hiring and retaining ideal employees was easy, then there would never be turnover or office miscommunications. Hopefully, these tips can help you generate the company culture you seek.
Correctly Posting the Job Opening
When a job opens, we often copy and paste the job description that has been used year after year, slap it on Indeed.com and move on with your day. Beta Gamma Sigma’s CEO, Chris Carosella, cautions against it. The reason the phenomenon is so problematic, she says, is that it “either wastes time and interview slots, or it results in poor-quality candidates filling positions they don’t understand or don’t really want.” Consider looking at the job description from when you were hired. Is it accurate? Are there parts missing or job duties you don’t actually do? Great companies evolve with time. That means so should job descriptions when positions are altered. Do your best to depict the job accurately.
In addition, mention the purpose and mission of your company, highlighting how the new employee will affect his or her peers, customers, and colleagues. That way, when conducting the interview, you can see clearly whether or not their mission aligns with yours.
Good Resumes Don’t Always Equate to the Perfect Candidate for Your Culture
Resumes tell a perfected story of the candidate at hand. Job descriptions and previous performances matter, but they don’t automatically make them a strong addition to your team. Therefore, have your desired character traits, not just job-related capabilities, in mind.
Google’s three cultural components they look for in prospective employees are the corporate mission, transparent messaging, and employee-employer verbal reciprocity. With this trio of elements, Google can brand itself to potential hires as a purposeful, value-driven place.
Working with Younger, Millennial Employees
The new generation of tech-savvy employees has multiple reputations, depending on who is asked. When famed football Coach and leader Lou Holtz was asked how he would approach them, he responded “I’d be better,” without hesitation.
Due to the conventions with which different generations interact and have been educated, it forces those of us who have been in the workforce longer than they have been alive to alter our conventions as well.
“I did too much screaming, too much hollering,” Holtz told Forbes interviewer Jerry Barca.
He agreed Millennials could have a negative reputation that preceded them due to their age alone. But the 81-year-old refused to agree to the labels applied to the youngest generation in the workforce. “‘Most people don’t believe they’re as talented as they are. And they are talented.’ He also said he’d never attack the performer. He’d address the performance, but not personally go after the player.”
Consider the millennial-aged employees you work with. Is this your approach? Could it be?
Players wouldn’t hear the notorious yelling from Holtz today, he claims. He’d evolve his method of leadership like all great leaders do. Instead of screaming, he states he would ask questions about their performance and have them detail what was effective and ineffective about it. He’d also have them self-reflect on how it worked out for them.
Keep in mind: communicating more clearly is not the same as lowering expectations. “I wouldn’t lessen the message. I wouldn’t compromise the standards,” he said. “He wouldn’t risk losing players and having them shut down because of an attachment to coaching the way he had always coached. He’d adjust. He’d reach them where they are at versus acting in that old-school football coach way that could alienate players.”
Contact us now to learn more about how we can help you optimize your hiring process or more of your key business services or special programs.
Phone: (646) 883-2927
Email: [email protected]