by Karlee Kilker
It’s a two-way street. The applicant wants to make sure they are what the company needs. The company wants to make sure they are projecting its unique set of values and culture to attract the right candidates. Shifting gears into the direction for the hiring team, the bold-faced question should be: Are you courting your ideal employee? If it doesn’t feel like your atmosphere is unique, then it’s time to reevaluate who your business is at its most effective. Strategic hiring doesn’t mean actively denying opportunities to all but one type of applicant but making sure your established values are being expanded. Where they’ve been and their experiences are the fundamentals, aligning with your company’s growth trajectory is the vitals. No matter your industry, building up the business and those who work there is a strengthening tool. Going back to our analogy of mimicking a dating game, you’re the host of the show and the suitor all wrapped up in one.
Three things to remember for successful company culture:
Broadcast Your Culture
Have you established a social media presence? This is a two-way tactic. You can see what a person shows as their “brand” by how they portray themselves online. Before you meet with anyone personally or professionally, having a look into their narrative can be telling. Having a clear concept of who the company is, lets applicants and the hiring team find the right pairing.
Have an answer to this question: What are 3-5 words that our people would use to describe their surroundings? Would those attributes be enhanced by this applicant?
Provide insight into the “work family”
The catch is not letting the office become a monotonous group, but rather a place for the best talent and array of great ideas for your work culture. In that sense, be sure that the true voice in your people is heard. This clears up a concern for the “bait-and-switch” feeling an employee perceives as their new company culture. Even the small moments can say the most to candidates. As a client from a large financial services group depicted in her interview process: the genuine nature spoke volumes and promoted a “respect comes first kind of culture.”
Know Your Destination
Any solid planning model starts with a projective start. In a new hire, there is no accident when it comes to the interview process. The tact comes in building the right components for the clear sense of fit. Setting the interview tone can be the only impression the applicant needs. If you’re looking for more independent versus a more collaborative employee role, make this known. This round of hiring could be an effort to transform your culture from where it currently is. Since transparency is essential, clue them into this as well.
“Stratice spends time with us as the client to understand what our requirements are and what our culture is. They then go out and find the right people to fit within that culture and that project or opportunity we’re working on. That I think is the best part about it: they don’t necessarily throw people at you, they look for people that match your organization.”
Steve Meany | CEO | Information Transport Solutions: A Uniti Company
Helping administer the perfect hire is what we do here at Stratice. The other side of this matchmaking design is working with the client on who needs to be in their next round of interviews. We can aid in the hiring process, finding the perfect fit for your company culture. To work with Stratice, contact us at [email protected]
