Why Great Recruiters Understand Company Culture
In a jobseeker’s market, companies are fighting it out to attract the top talent. Yet as we all know, that’s not where the battle for star performers ends. It’s keeping that talent long-term that matters- something that can be difficult to do when competitor companies are reaching out to passive jobseekers with enticing salary packages and perks. Yet it’s not all about the money, either.
Great recruiters understand that whether a candidate chooses to stay or go when offered a new opportunity often comes down to how well they fit in with the existing company culture. Which is why it’s so important to get this match right in the first place in order to keep both clients and candidates happy with your performance.
These days, company culture is considered one of the major factors in acceptance decisions—to an extent unheard of even 10 or 20 years ago. Today’s top candidates will probably want to know whether they’d be joining a strictly hierarchical company structure or a more flat and democratic-style workplace where the ‘door is always open’.
Other things they might want to know is whether flexible work is a possibility, whether promotion is awarded largely on merit or seniority, and whether the office has a sociable or more formal atmosphere.
They’ll often want to know a whole range of things from dress codes and corporate social responsibility ventures— to whether the CEO is the type who’d say hi in a lift. These might seem like small side issues to candidates who are more interested in salary and don’t mind a formal work environment, yet for the new breed of Millennial candidates, company culture is a huge deciding factor in whether to accept a role.
For a recruiter, knowing the ins and outs of company culture means that you can place the right candidate with the right role, pure and simple. When the right employee finds the right company culture in which to thrive, they won’t move on after three months when they realise it’s a bad fit, or get a more tempting offer.
As recruiters, we know how bad it looks to our clients when their star recruit ups and leaves! And the recruit themselves might be a bit disappointed in your services too for not matching you with a role that was right for their expectations.
So, how do you find out their expectations about company culture? You ask them, of course! Find out what kind of workplace they can see themselves being happy in, and take serious note of what they say. If they’re not sure, then ask them a few key questions to sound them out- do you like wearing a suit to work?
Do you think promotion should be on merit or is seniority important? Does it matter to you if the company has a good reputation for charity etc? Do you think it’s important to be sociable with people at work? Where’s the best place you ever worked and what made it great? Do you look forward to your office Christmas parties or are work functions a bit of a bore? These are just a few of the questions you could ask to get a general idea of where they would be a good fit.
Mind you, if they’re expecting Google-like cultural perks like in-house masseuses, sleep pods and sports facilities you may need to gently lower their expectations, but it’s up to you to do your research to try and create the right match.
Speak to the hiring manager about what the culture’s like and perhaps get in touch with some current and past staff if you can.
Remember, this isn’t all about the candidate’s wishes and needs. The importance of cultural fit goes both ways- you are protecting both client and candidate from a wrong decision. As well as yourself!
Until next time,
Cheryl