How Culture Plays a Role in the Recruiting Process

It’s time to talk culture. This is something I am passionate about and you as recruiters should be too. Culture is something that is too often looked at as being the way in which things are done “here” around the office. And that “here” can be widely different among organizations.

The most defining characteristic of culture is that it remains constant in the face of change.” his is empowering. This is what culture is. Culture is defined within organizations based on employees’ shared beliefs, assumptions, and norms of the work environment that influence and reflect beliefs.

There are millions, maybe billions, of different types of organizations out there today and there is no single best culture. As recruiters, you might have 2-6 different clients, all with different beliefs in what their culture is. To recruit people into these different organizations, it is important to look at how your candidate will fit into that culture.

The main connection between culture and recruiting is the association of attracting talent, selection, and retention. As a recruiter, you must attract your talent, select your best candidate and hope they make it past that allotted time for you to get your commission check. When it comes to culture, an organization looks at what their culture says about them and who they will attract, then select those attracted people who will thrive and stay in the organization for the long term.

A study by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan from the University of Rochester distinguished three main reasons why people work:

• Play ‚Äì is when you are motivated by the work itself. You work because you enjoy it.
• Purpose ‚Äì is when the direct outcome of the work fits your identity.
• Potential ‚Äì is when the outcome of the work benefits your identity. In other words, the work enhances your potential.

When a culture supports these desires in which people can thrive, are appreciated and can grow, they will be more willing to contribute to the overall success of the organization. As a recruiter you should use these desires of individuals and their reasons to work when sourcing and talking to different candidates.  A person hired partially on his or her fit within a culture is more likely to continue on as a valuable company resource, even if the position he or she was originally hired for ceases to exist. Talk with your hiring managers on what defines your clients‚Äô culture and position fit and I bet you will be able to navigate the attraction, selection and retention process of recruiting with more confidence.

Go get em’.