Communicating Your Organizational Culture to Candidates

Hiring managers have the crucial task of placing the right candidate in the right place in an organization. One of the key criteria for hiring is ensuring the cultural compatibility of the candidates with your organization. These considerations are equally important for a job seeker as well. As a result, it is imperative for hiring managers to be capable to communicate the cultural elements of their organization to the candidates.

The culture of any organization is defined in its mission, values, and conduct. It can be intangible (e.g. shared goals) or even tangible (e.g. dress code).

Importance of Hiring for the Best Fit

Wrong hiring is one of the biggest costs for any organization! The cost includes not only the loss of productivity, cost of training, and recruitment efforts, but also a significant amount of your time. Every HR manager wants to select people who believe in the organization’s vision, values, products, and services. These candidates should also be motivated intrinsically to deliver their utmost in achieving the company’s objectives.

Key Steps for Sharing Your Company Culture

Communicating your organizational culture to potential employees begins long before you meet them personally in interviews. This information is shared progressively with candidates at various stages of the recruitment process. Here are several important steps to help you convey your company’s culture to potential employees.

In the job posting:

• Share the company’s mission statement.
• Mention specific values when listing the job requirements, such as “should collaborate with.”
• Provide an explicit description of values/culture, such as “We are committed to conducting our business in an ethical manner.”
• Mention the specific competencies and values you are looking for when listing candidate qualifications, such as “flexible” or “engaging.”
• Share statistics or other measures of success to present a “result-oriented” aspect of your organizational culture.

In candidate interviews:

• Conduct the interview at a location where the candidate would be required to work in the future. This helps the candidate to understand the organization’s physical structure and layout.
• Implement appropriate office décor to convey visual information more quickly and easily to candidates. You can display achievements, photos of employees, annual events, or reports to communicate your culture to future employees.
• Share information about work-life balance, office outings, work pace, and other activities. This allows the candidate to determine whether his or her work style matches the company’s.
• Practice what you preach. If you present your organization as an employee-friendly company, your interview location and demeanor must present this type of welcoming environment. Ask the interviewee to share his or her responses to situations that can demonstrate the competencies required in your organization.

Ultimately, hiring managers must be trained adequately in recruitment practices. They must be able to interpret a candidate’s compatibility with the organization’s culture and core values. Implementing a culture-fit approach in your organization’s hiring process is always a “win-win” situation for both the candidate and the employer.