A significant number of companies acknowledge company culture is important — 78 percent of the 1,800-plus CEOs and CFOs interviewed for a 2015 Duke University study said it was one of the top five things that made their organization valuable.
More than 50 percent also said the tone, operating style, behavioral standards and other elements that define organizational culture can influence productivity, creativity and profitability.
To successfully find candidates who correspond with an organization’s company culture, businesses need to first pinpoint their identity as an employer, and then accurately convey it to job seekers.
Promoting Employment Perks
In recent years, the practice has often been referred to as building an employer brand — the value proposition that will convince candidates they’d want to work for a company.
Late last year, 59 percent of organizations said they had a proactive employer brand strategy in place; 62 percent viewed employer brand efforts as a top priority, according to LinkedIn’s Global Recruiting Trends study.
Companies that take the time to establish a strong employer brand can see considerable results — including attracting, according to a CareerBuilder survey, at least 3.5 times more applicants per job posting than other companies in the same industry.
Categorizing Contenders
Attracting more candidates means an organization will have a more robust talent pool to choose from; but it will still need to determine which applicants would truly support and enhance its goals and workplace atmosphere.
Many hiring professionals consider company culture when recruiting candidates. Three quarters of employers, in fact, say they measure whether or not a candidate will fit in with their corporate culture, according to a 2016 survey from Connexys.
If your organization doesn’t — or its culture-matching practices could benefit from some changes — consider the following suggestions:
Define organizational culture early on
Tell each candidate about the programs and policies that influence your company culture — and what recent steps you’ve taken to enhance it — at the beginning of the interview so the person understands what you’ll provide and expect.
Ask candidates what environment they’re most comfortable in
Once they know what kind of workplace you offer, directly ask what kind they want. Do they prefer extensive group work? Being left alone? Monetary-based motivation or verbal encouragement? Finding out what previous workplaces a job seeker felt content in can help you tell if the person would flourish in yours.
Focus on behavior-based conversations
Candidates may not know (or admit knowing) what type of environment they work best in. Asking them behavioral interview questions, which stress experience and their past reactions to given situations, instead of hypothetical actions they might take, can provide authentic information that will help you determine whether or not a candidate would respond well to your company culture and common work-related scenarios.
Even with careful attempts to identify candidates who would fit in well with their company culture, in some cases, organizations have no idea why the job seekers they extend offers to keep turning them down — or why current employees are leaving.
To help organizations that lack the extensive time and manpower needed to conduct research on compensation, benefits and the other elements that can signify a company is an ideal place to work, Talent Intelligence recently introduced a new Employer Brand Intelligence program, which provides proprietary insight into an organization’s position in the hiring marketplace.
If your company is struggling to determine how it compares to competitors, and how it can differentiate itself to attract highly sought-after talent, contact Talent Intelligence today for more information.