How does Organizational Culture Affect Hiring?

How many job applicants take the organizational culture of the company into account?

You might be shocked to learn that it is a fairly high percentage (77% in the US, UK, France, and Germany). In those regions, more than half of the workforce believes that company culture is more important than salary when it comes to determining how satisfied they are at work.

That is a huge number. And businesses are beginning to notice. The term "company culture" has gained popularity and is now flashed on every career page on the internet.

What, though, is corporate culture? What does it look like in practice? And how does it influence hiring? 

What is Organizational Culture?

Adam Mendler, a leadership keynote speaker defines organizational culture as "a combination of people, vision, and values that ultimately define the atmosphere in the workplace and shape how much you enjoy coming into work."

Some believe that a company's culture represents the "personality" of the business and that it resembles the internal company brand in some ways. It might be called the core of your company, your company's soul, the glue that holds employees together, and all sorts of other things.

What does a Good Workplace Culture look like?

Healthy workplace culture is a subjective topic. What works for one employee might not work for another  However, there are a number of crucial elements that go into developing a positive workplace culture where employees feel appreciated, safe, and happy.

These elements are

• Diversity, inclusivity, and equity prioritized 
• Open communication 
• Social outings and non-work-related activities
• Work flexibility
• Zero-tolerance policies
• Transparency
• Clear mission, purpose and core values
• Ongoing professional development opportunities
• Collaboration is encouraged
• Regular employee recognition
• Accessible leadership teams
• A healthy approach to wellbeing
• Empowerment
• Employee benefits
• Accountability

How is Organizational Culture Beneficial?

A strong and healthy organizational culture can benefit the company in the following manners.

A Smooth Recruitment Process

Some companies emphasize culture fit when hiring new employees over experience, putting experience lower on their priority list. Having a team-first corporate culture is what this is. The logic behind this is that an employee will be more motivated to work hard if they feel at home in their workplace and value their coworkers as people.

Alternatively, if two candidates are evenly matched in a hiring process based on experience, examining how well they fit into the company's culture could be a helpful deciding factor.

Better Onboarding

It will be much simpler to explain to new hires what your company stands for, what your goals are, and what typical office life is like if you are clear on these things. Everyone who joins your team will pick up on your culture because it will be evident in everything you do.

Along with serving as an onboarding activity, asking your new team members about their perceptions of the company culture could provide insightful information about how others view your organization.

Increased Retention

By encouraging a positive company culture, hiring decisions can be made with the utmost expertise, onboarding can go more smoothly, and new hires will quickly feel at home and motivated to stick around.

Increased Productivity

Employees that are comfortable are more likely to work hard. You'll be inspired to work harder if you work in a setting where you feel your values are reflected in everything you do, from interacting with coworkers to marketing your products or services.

Furthermore, happier workers miss fewer hours of work since they call in sick 10 times less frequently than their unhappy coworkers.

Employee Development

Employees that have your company's culture deeply imprinted in their minds may value similar working practices, including how you handle criticism.

This makes it possible to establish a standardized method for providing and receiving feedback, making feedback discussions simpler. As a result, these discussions will be more fruitful and accelerate an employee's development.

Your Company Goals are met

When there is a cultural balance within an organization and employees feel happy working together and cohesively, they will work towards the development of the organization.

This brings a holistic work environment to your company and as a result, your company goals are met faster and more effectively.

Enhanced Company Brand

Sharing your company's cultural values on social media and the website will help you build your brand. Even while company culture ought to be evident within the company, highlighting it, even more, won't hurt, especially when it shows in the company's actions.

What damage would it do to try to manage this a little bit more carefully given that how people perceive your company has the power to make or break it?

Increased Joy At Work

The main advantage of a healthy organizational culture is that employees feel at home and they enjoy their jobs more. They start looking forward to going to work every day and are driven to succeed not just for their own benefit but also for the success of their coworkers and the business as a whole.

Employee stress will be reduced by a good company culture, which will result in healthier, happier staff.

How does Organizational Culture Affect Hiring?

Organizational culture and recruitment process are intertwined as they are associated with employee selection and retention. An organization’s culture represents the company’s brand and attracts applicants likewise. Some companies even recruit according to their organizational culture and hold it in great regard.

Directly lowers the Quality of Hires

It is a candidate-driven world today. If you have a pipeline of potential candidates up for a job role opening, they are bound to search everything about your company and then sign your offer letter.

A bad organizational culture is evident to such candidates and any top candidate who has multiple offers in hand will decline your offer. You will then get candidates who are desperately looking for a job but are low in skills.

Damages your Employer Brand

When a potential candidate turns up at your door for a job interview and sees what a madhouse your organization is, there is no structure and no cordial relationships between employees; he will create a bad brand image and might tell other prospects also to not join your company.

Damages Candidate Experience

As is clear from the above point, when a candidate comes for a job interview, they weigh every factor of an organization before joining it. A candidate is likely to ruin their whole recruitment experience if you do not have a wholesome company culture. 

Increase the Time of Hiring

A questionable company culture causes reluctance among the applicants to join your organization and hence this increases the time of hiring for a particular job role.

Final Thoughts

Company culture is quickly becoming the most important tool in the hunt for top talent. According to a survey conducted by Monster, employees who had a strong cultural match would accept a lesser compensation, while workplaces with cultural alignment experienced a 30% reduction in turnover.

"Find a job you love, and you'll never have to work another day in your life" has long been one of our favorite proverbs. Therefore, we firmly believe that discovering and embracing strategies for creating a positive Corporate Culture in workplaces is the key to luring in and keeping a talented workforce who are driven and committed to achieving success for the business.