by: Renee Boatwright | VP of Recruiting
Hiring managers, regardless of industry, struggle with hiring employees that “fit” within their organization. We all agree that previous work experience and education is important and, for the most part, easy to identify. What is just as important, but harder to identify, is culture fit.
What do I mean when I talk about “culture?” Company culture is a term used to define the personality or character of an organization. Company culture can be expressed through the organization’s mission and vision statements, in the architectural style of the offices, the dress code and the means in which employees communicate with each other.
In order to identify company culture, an organization must look to their line-level associates up to their C-level executives for input on what is important to them. The core values and beliefs must be identified along with rules of behavior. Think about what is important to you and what you value.
Every group has a culture…..from your high school cliques to your fraternities to your office staff. Culture “fit” means that you value and enjoy the same things in life. Think about what makes certain groups unique; for example high school cliques that use the same slang terms and dress alike.
Some offices are quiet, some offices are loud, some like to go to lunch together and some prefer happy hour. Think about what your company culture is and keep this top of mind when hiring new employees. Skills can be learned and refined, but appropriate culture fit is harder to change. New hires that “fit” within a company’s culture will often yield higher success and productivity and result in decreased turnover.
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