8.23.23 – Fast Company
Better recruitment strategies can lead to better company culture, this recruiting expert says. The key is to value ‘culture add’ over ‘culture fit.’
Many businesses have come to understand that their workplace culture is one of the most powerful tools they have for recruiting. It can be the biggest factor in drawing top talent. In a Glassdoor survey, more than three-quarters of respondents across four countries said they would consider a company’s culture before applying for a job. More than half said culture is even more important than salary for job satisfaction.
What gets less attention is that recruiting and talent are actually part of a virtuous cycle. Not only does culture help recruiters like me bring employees to a company, but recruiting can also play a significant role in improving a company’s culture.
To make this happen, organizations need to add a few key skills to the mix when seeking out candidates.
HIRE CHANGEMAKERS
Today’s hiring managers generally have a substantial list of skills they seek in filling job vacancies. The most in-demand “hard skills” include software development and knowledge of various programming languages, LinkedIn reports. The most in-demand skills overall include many that are traditionally thought of as “soft skills,” including management, communication, customer service, and leadership.
I’ve found that companies genuinely committed to improving their workplace cultures also have another set of priorities. They look for candidates with a proven record of curiosity, innovation, and making change inside organizations.
These are the people most likely to spot problems in how the business operates—problems that longtime employees may have become accustomed to. And these candidates are most likely to be unafraid to question practices, even early on in their time at the organization.
This phenomenon is growing not just in the United States, but around the world as well. In Singapore, the national external intelligence agency has said it’s looking for candidates unafraid to bring up different perspectives, to help grow a culture of “challenging the norms.”
CHICKEN-EGG SCENARIO
While it’s important to seek out applicants with these attributes, it can also be difficult for some organizations to attract changemakers. As a study points out, it’s a “chicken-and-egg problem because candidates who embody these characteristics normally are less attracted to employers who do not (yet) possess a reputation for being innovative or open to change.”
It’s especially tough to overcome this barrier when the job market is hot, giving people so many choices. The latest figures show the employment picture remains very good for workers overall, with layoffs down, hiring up, and more people voluntarily quitting their jobs, generally to take new ones.
To attract changemakers, organizations should demonstrate a genuine commitment to fostering this kind of internal innovation. In company events and full staff meetings, highlight employees who have called out problems, suggested solutions, and improved how the organization operates. One company even rewards employees for making new and interesting mistakes, showing that it supports employees taking risks and trying out new thing.
I’ve found that it’s also important to make sure that recruiters—whether internal or external—have a voice in helping to set the company’s direction. When they’re able to tell executives about the cultural challenges that are limiting candidates’ interest in working there, the organizations themselves are quicker to enact a culture change.
LinkedIn’s 2023 report on the future of recruiting says that increasingly, talent acquisition (TA) leaders are getting a “seat at the proverbial table.” Recruiters are in a position to speak up “from talking comp with the CFO to fine-tuning your employer brand with the CMO to addressing skill gaps with the CLO (chief learning officer).”
When I work with employers, I tell them that the key is to value “culture add” over “culture fit.” In addition to bringing along people of different backgrounds and perspectives, which is as crucial as ever, I look for people who will add to the organization’s pace of change. They’ll help to give it the kind of culture that makes the organization thrive—completing the virtuous cycle.
Matt Massucci is founder and CEO of Hirewell, a talent acquisition platform.