HIRING WITH THE COMPANY CULTURE IN MIND

Welcome to our continuing blog post series for employers about how to hire well. Previous posts in this series include the following:
“2 Simple Steps for Exceptional Hiring”
“More Tips for Hiring Quality Employees Who Succeed”
In this blog post, we’re going to continue our discussion regarding hiring success. However, we’re going to look at the topic from a slightly different angle. That angle is through the lens of the company culture.
When it comes to hiring quality employees, there are a series of questions that company officials must ask themselves about candidates. Here are two of those questions:
“Does the candidate have the skills necessary to do the job?”
“Does the candidate have the experience necessary to do the job?”
Both questions lend themselves to determining if the candidate in question would be a good fit for the position. That’s because if they have both the skills and the experience, then they will more than likely be able to fulfill the duties and the requirements of the position.
So theoretically, they will be a productive employee. However, there’s an additional dimension to the situation that must be considered. Will the candidate not only be a productive employee, but will they also contribute to a productive work environment, as well?
This is a valid question because even if an employee is productive on an individual basis, they could still disrupt the productivity of their team or department. The reason? Their contribution (or lack of one) to the company culture.
Here is a short list of adjectives used to describe an employee that generally does NOT contribute in a positive way to an organization’s company culture:
Short-tempered
Callous
Combative
Petty
Non-communicative
Jealous
No matter how talented a job seeker is or how much experience they possess, if any of these adjectives describe them or if they possess any of these characteristics, they might be a bad hire. That’s why “soft skills” are just as important during the hiring process as “hard skills.”
Sure, pre-screening techniques and personality tests will provide a certain level of information, but not all of it. You must go even beyond that. When hiring, you have to “get a feel” for the job seekers who are applying for your open positions.
If you’re close to hiring somebody, especially for a particularly important position, have as many people speak with them as you can. See how they handle different people, and then get feedback from those individuals concerning the candidate. Ask them how they think the person might fit into the organization from a personality or company culture perspective.
When it comes to hiring the best people possible, you want more than just somebody with the right skills, background, and experience. You want somebody who will bring a positive attitude, a high level of energy, and a spirit of cooperation to the team.
Because that person will truly help you to maximize not only their productivity, but also the productivity of everybody around them.