Ensuring a job applicant is a good cultural fit is one of the main tasks employers are seeking to accomplish during the interview process. It is often seen as being just as important, if not more important, than having the right skill set and experience. After all, many things can be taught, but if someone’s personality and values are at odds with the organizational goals and culture, it’s going to be difficult for either side to be happy long term.
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During the recruiting process, while the organization is trying to assess cultural fit, the prospective employee is doing the same thing. They’re assessing what it might be like to work for your organization and whether it seems like it will work out well for them. Employers can help in this process by being as transparent as possible about the working environment and organizational culture.
How to Communicate the Organizational Culture During Recruitment
Here are a few ways an employer can communicate the organizational culture during the recruiting process:
- Share details about the organization like the mission, vision, and values. Consider going even deeper and sharing things like company policies and organizational structure.
- Work with the rest of the organization to ensure that the public-facing aspects of the organization accurately depict what it’s like to work there. For example:
- Many organizations opt to use social media for this purpose—it can serve as a means for potential applicants to get a glimpse into the working life there. Consider sharing things that give an insider’s look into the company culture, like photos from employee events.
- Another way to communicate this is to be transparent on the company website about company vision and values. Give examples to back up what’s said when possible.
- Include information in the job posting that relays what the working environment is like. For example, if teamwork is a critical component for success, it could be a listed skill that the organization is seeking for the role.
- In the job posting, include information about the organization that will allow the applicant to get an idea about what the organization stands for.
- Even things like the job title and description can be used to highlight what makes your organization different from others.
- During the interview, give the candidate information about what a typical workday or week will be like.
- During the interview process, consider including individuals with whom the person will be interacting closely if they take the role. Not only can this give the individual an idea of who they will be working with, it can also help you gain valuable insights from having multiple perspectives on whether to hire the individual.
This list is just getting started. In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll continue to outline more ways that an organization can communicate about the organizational culture during the recruiting process. Stay tuned for more!