Excuse Me, Your Culture Is Showing…

“Talent is the multiplier. The more energy and attention you invest in it, the greater the yield.”

– Marcus Buckingham

Talented. Professional. Experienced. Qualified. Positive. Team Player. Motivated. Loyal.

Filter out the fluff from a typical job posting and almost every company is looking for the same thing: someone who encompasses these key attributes. And there can be hundreds of candidates that match what you’re looking for, which unfortunately is a bit of a catch-22. On the one hand you have a large pool of qualified candidates to choose from (yay!), and yet very few of them will actually fit into the culture of your organization.

Let’s say you’re the coolest new tech startup and you boast an open workspace concept, a ton of fun team activities, a “do what you feel like” work structure, a games room and a fully stocked beer fridge. Now you’re probably thinking, “wow, I want to work there!” And so would a ton of other people if they actually knew about your cool company. But the reality is, by the time you’ve added in all the job-related content you need in the posting, there’s no room left for you to explain to  everyone how awesome the culture is! And this has 2 very negative consequences:

• First, as we touched on before, no one is going to know about all those other unique, intangible benefits that make your company a truly amazing place to work, and
• Second, potential candidates can’t get a feel for whether their working style and personality are a fit for your organization.

Consider an applicant who views the posting for this cool tech startup. She’s educated, experienced and seems to be a perfect fit, so naturally she applies. But she’s the kind of person who values knowing exactly what is expected of her, having a set of routine tasks and a quiet working environment. Does that sound like a match for the laidback style of a young tech startup? Not likely. But you can’t blame her for applying because on paper it seems like she’s more than qualified.

More and more, companies are starting to realize the importance of cultural fit when recruiting. It only takes a few turnovers to understand the resources wasted when cultural fit isn’t considered in the hiring process.

“Hiring talent that doesn’t align with your company culture creates personal conflict within the employee that will no doubt impact their work and those they work with. It’s your responsibility as an employer to set your employees up for success, and making sure their values and work ethic is in line with your culture before extending an offer is the very first thing you can do for them and the rest of your workforce.”

Jene Brown, Recruiting Operations Strategist

So how do you filter through all the applicants to find the qualified ones who actually are a cultural fit?

Simple. Show them what you’re all about and let them weed themselves out.

Show ‘em what you got!

Giving potential candidates a day-in-the-life view of your organization offers a chance to visualize themselves walking the halls, grabbing a coffee in the lunchroom and working alongside future co-workers. If you can paint a picture of what it might really be like for candidates to work for your organization, they’re far more likely to realize whether an opportunity is truly a fit for them.

The most effective way to create this window into your company is through video. It doesn’t matter whether it’s animation or videography, interactive or static. As long as it shows potential candidates what your organization values and what you’re all about, it’ll provide the perspective they need to get to know you.

Deloitte produced an interactive recruitment video that absolutely nails the day-in-the-life perspective of a Deloitte employee:

• what time their day starts,
• their desk environment,
• various task requirements,
• potential co-workers and management team members,
• team building activities, and
• the qualities Deloitte values.

And it does it all in a fun, relatable and personalized way. The Deloitte video was incredibly well-received and caught the eye of both quality applicants and industry members alike, bringing qualified candidates to the table and creating a buzz on social media:

A great interactive talent brand video by @deloittegradsnz to determine candidate cultural fit: https://t.co/AZ2wA11Xio

— HireOnLinkedIn (@HireOnLinkedIn) March 4, 2014

An animated video provides a different feel and perspective that may better reflect your organization. Check out this one we created for BAR Engineering:

Weed ‘em out!

Let’s go back to our tech startup example. Had the applicant who values structure and a quiet working environment seen a video about the tech startup (similar to Deloitte’s), she wouldn’t have wasted her time applying (nor the companies time pre-screening and interviewing) because she would have known the culture just wasn’t a fit for her.

That’s the beauty of these types of videos! They weed out the people who were never going to work out anyways and help qualified applicants get excited about the culture, feel more confident in their decision to apply and more motivated to be the successful candidate.

And selecting the right talent for your company and placing them in the right role goes beyond simply getting their foot in the door. This infographic shows how the right fit can result in happier employees, leading to…

…increased engagement,

…which leads to increased productivity,

…which in turn, generates higher profits.

So set your employees and your organization up for success by offering a glimpse into your corporate culture, which will lead to better qualified candidates, happier employees and an all-around more successful business.