030 – HIRING CULTURALLY FIT – GOLDEN NUGGET FRIDAY WITH SHELLEY ROGERS

Welcome to GNF Episode 30 but before I begin I wanted to quickly give a brief teaser for next week guest.   I had the pleasure of interviewing Aimee Englemann from Beepo an offshoring company in the Philippians.  Once upon a time, offshoring was associated with large corporations moving departments overseas in a cost-saving measure, however today the industry has evolved into a sophisticated pool of people talent, accessible to business all around the world at a low cost.

So regardless of your enterprise size, if you’re not taking advantage of the globalization of the human resource market, then it’s time to revisit your business strategy and make sure to listen too next weeks interview with Aimee Englemann from Beepo.

Now onto today’s Golden Nugget Friday episode on  Hiring the right people for your organization based on Cultural fit.

I was inspired to talk about hiring based on Culture & Core Values from Scott MacDonald’s interview earlier this week when I asked him what was one of the biggest mistakes he has made as an entrepreneur. 

As Entrepreneurs we must get this right from the very first hire through to the day we replace ourselves as CEO. We must recognise the power in choosing the right people for our businesses. Your staff can make or break your idea. A bad hire at any level of an organization can have a ripple effect through many areas of your business and may end up costing you more than the employee’s salary.

At its core, cultural fit means that employees' beliefs and behaviors are in alignment with their employer's core values and company culture.   Recent research suggests that job seekers ranked company culture second to salary as the most important consideration when applying for a role.

This employment trend is especially strong among Millennials, who are more likely to pass over traditionally companies—even if the pay is very good—in favor of businesses that offer meaningful work, more flexibility and a fun working environment.

As part of my research for this episode I looked at Linkedin and Google because well they are so successful I asked myself why do they receive crazy amounts of job applications?   What are they doing and what makes them successful?   Here’s what Jeff Weiner CEO of Linkedin had to say….

Books Recommended:
 

My Tips for hiring to match culture

• The first step in hiring for cultural fit is to be able to clearly define your companies core values, norms and practices.
• Be up-front and very clear about your organisational culture and values. Engage candidates on the issue of company culture and ask what kind of work environment they feel most comfortable in.
• Observe the candidates in group interviews to ascertain whether their interactions demonstrate alignment with your company’s core values.
• Give the applicant a chance to lead the conversation. You’ll be able to get a better understanding on their personality and their people skills.

But remember-

• Don’t lose sight that ultimately this person will serve an important purpose in your business. Never sacrifice skills and qualifications for a cultural match unless you have the resources to train the candidate in-house.
• Asking candidates about personal issues — such as age, citizenship status, health, family history or ethnic background is against the law and can never be justified on the basis of cultural fit.

Cultural fit clearly plays a pivotal role in today’s hiring process, but that doesn’t mean you should hire clones of your existing staff. Diverse teams lead to positive, productive innovations and exchanges of ideas. Once you truly understand your company’s culture, make sure you’re focused on it -- not your personal biases -- when selecting candidates.

I wish you all the very best on your future hires for your organization and will end with a quote.

Quote

"Hire slow but fire fast"

Be Sure to Find Us On iTunes!