Company culture...the proof of the pudding is in the eating

Those who read my blogs on a regular basis know that I have a sweet spot for company culture and the fit a candidate should have with that culture. But how do you build a company culture and how do you ensure that it becomes the DNA of your organisation?

Consulting companies have made fortunes advising on how to create the right winning company culture. Beautiful posters have been put up in the offices, clarifying the exact meaning of the different, well-thought-through values. Employer branding agencies will advise you on how to sell your unique culture to the best and the brightest.

But really…how often are the values merely a beautiful decoration on the wall and food for cynism amongst employees.

There is a distinct difference between how companies would like to be and the reality of every day corporate life. Let’s face it: if a colleague who is famous for backstabbing gets promoted, the poster on the wall advocating for team-play will remain a dead letter.

The unspoken ‘rules of the game’ to survive and thrive in a company are based on observation. People will look at their leaders to see which behavior is positively reinforced through promotion and praise but also which behavior is tolerated, even though it is in contradiction with the values.

For example: if one of your values is excellence, ensure that promotions are based on results rather than political skills; if you preach trust, don’t build a heavy approval process for every decision that needs to be taken.

If you want to create a company culture, in line with the noble aspirations on the wall, it is key to determine clear behavior guidelines starting from the top. It should be clear to every single employee that from the first interview to the last day of work, the core values are the basis for every decision the company makes.

After all, the true company culture is not what management preaches, but what they practice in everyday life.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Isabel

Through a personalized and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company

Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be

Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch

Is technology putting recruitment out of business?

I stumbled across an article on LinkedIn that announced the death of recruitment. In this digital age do we, as recruitment agency or headhunter, still have a future or is technology going to put us out of business?

Let’s face it, the world of attracting talent has changed dramatically over the last decades. A Rolodex containing phone numbers of who’s who in business used to be our main asset, now the world has opened and even the most famous CEO is only a few clicks away.

Boolean searches provide within minutes a list of the most appropriate candidates, e-mail addresses are readily available and interviews through Skype have become common practice, so what is the added value a headhunter can still bring?

Technical skills are no longer the key to success. Now, even more than ever, the cultural fit between employer and employee is crucial to a successful hire. It is here that we can make the difference.

Our added value does not lay in the identification of a pool of candidates but in the identification of the right candidate. It is time that we put focus on the human aspects of recruitment. After all, what is more personal in a professional life than the choice of a new employer?

Does this mean that we have to go back to the wining and dining from the eighties? No, but it is time that we team up with both clients and candidates, time that we start thinking long term and build authentic relationships, using all new technologies that are available. It is exactly there that we can make the difference: knowing the ways of working of our clients, the leadership style of the hiring managers and the unique traits that make someone successful in that specific environment. If we combine this with expert knowledge on how to engage into a conversation with potential candidates and a solid knowledge of who our candidates really are, their values and aspirations, their strengths and weaknesses then I believe that we still have a bright future ahead.

Recruitment in the future will not be around massive databases but around building business partnerships with clients and investing in creating a pool of talent that could be the right candidate at a certain point in time. It will be around jointly communicating an employer brand and being a matchmaker with the right talent, not for a specific position but for the right fit, both from a client and a candidate perspective.

As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts, comments and ideas.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Isabel

Through a personalised and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company

Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be

Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch

Your fit with the organisation will be the key to your success…

It is a cliché, I know, but your personal fit with the organisation is the primary key to being successful. In these rapidly changing times, the job you decided to pursue will alter over time, your reporting lines will change…but what will not rapidly change is the organisational culture.

Consequently, one of the key defining factors when assessing a job opportunity is your fit with the company culture.

Let’s start with the beginning: there are many definitions around organisational culture, one being even fluffier than the other. While researching for this blog, I came across a definition that to me sums it up correctly: ‘It is the way we do things around here’.

It consists of factors such as the shared values of a business, the beliefs and norms that affect every aspect of working life, the typical day-to-day behaviour. All of these are unspoken rules that define the unique ways of working within an organisation.

The difficulty of assessing a company culture prior to joining an organisation lies in the fact that the rules are unspoken. Does it mean that you just need to take your chances and hope for the best? Not at all, it merely indicates that you’ll need to focus in order to detect the company culture during the selection process.

It starts by knowing who you are and your own ways of working. You may have qualities that thrive in a structured, well-established organisation but that will set you up for failure in a start-up environment.

Once you know your own ‘culture’, you can start by reviewing the website of future employers. This will give you a first glance of the values a company has. But the proof of the pudding is still in the eating so…close observation during the selection process will reveal the true ways of working within an organisation.

Pay attention to the way you are treated at the reception. Have a look as well on how the working space is organised, you may not like an open space office environment. Are people dressed in a casual way or will a suit be your daily uniform?

All of these small factors will give you a first impression on the organisational culture.

Your interviews will provide you with additional information. The way a company approaches recruitment will tell you a lot about the qualities they value: are the questions oriented towards the technical aspects of a position or will they focus more on your personality? How do the different interviewers interact with each other? Do they all tell the same story? How quickly do they decide whether you make it to the next round? Do you get to meet the other team-members?

Being happy in a job requires that your DNA matches the DNA of an organisation. So take your time during the selection process to determine whether you truly fit in because it will be key to your long term success.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Isabel

Through a personalised and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company

Check out our website http://www.ingenium-search.be

Follow me on Twitter @IngeniumSearch