Marie Unger, Chief Executive Officer, Emergenetics International.
Every organization is an ecosystem of interconnected components that influence its culture. When a company builds a positive, productive environment, the climate must be tended to with intention.
Two opportunities to influence culture are talent acquisition and onboarding new employees. A transparent, consistent approach to hiring and onboarding that reflects your culture leads to a sustainable operation and sets up employees for success from the start.
Create a positive climate.
Many people are familiar with the popular business adage, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This can be interpreted to mean that even with the best ideas, the likelihood of success is limited if your organization isn’t set up to execute effectively. Leaders who invest in cultivating a workplace environment that enables innovation, productivity and tactical execution are best positioned to improve engagement, retention and results.
Renowned psychologist Edgar Schein defined “culture” as the artifacts, espoused values and underlying assumptions that are the fabric of any organization. These pieces are woven together like a tapestry and tell the story of what it’s like to be a part of the community.
While some aspects of culture, such as artifacts and espoused values, are apparent, others, like underlying assumptions, exist beneath the surface. The sooner an employee is exposed to all three, the quicker they will accelerate their contributions to the organization. For example, to acclimate new teammates, leaders can model the way by integrating corporate values into company-wide meetings and celebrating employees who are living the company’s rules of engagement through recognition programs. Managers can also provide valuable day-to-day support with regular check-ins to coach their direct reports and answer their questions, while HR teams can pair new staff members with tenured personnel who serve as culture mentors.
Enhance the prospective employee experience.
As the saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” A 2019 Glassdoor survey found that 77% of job seekers consider organizational culture as a factor when choosing where to apply. This shows that having a clear and consistent employee value proposition (EVP) is paramount. Your EVP should be related to your organization’s ethos.
Your EVP should inform every point of connection with candidates. From the “careers” page on your website and application process to the autogenerated responses and recruiter calls, these interactions should be seamless. Encourage your human resources and talent acquisition teams to partner with marketing or communications departments to craft the EVP and supporting messaging and materials to ensure everyone is “singing from the same song sheet.” Engage your learning and development professionals as well to train managers in the best practices for interviewing, selection and hiring.
With the widespread adoption of applicant tracking systems, consider how to benefit from tech efficiencies while carefully monitoring the candidate experience as they engage with your company online. I suggest putting a few existing employees from across departments through the process to determine where you are on-brand and any touchpoints that might miss the mark.
Explore the potential pitfalls of seeking “culture fit” in hiring practices. Your newest contributors should bring distinct perspectives to the organization. They can align with your values, but you want to avoid hiring for like-mindedness, as that can stifle creativity, problem-solving and outcomes.
Onboard relevantly.
In most organizations, new employees will be provided with a copy of the employee handbook, which typically includes pages upon pages of policies they are expected to adhere to during their tenure. More than the rules, what a new hire really needs are the rules of engagement.
As Frances Frei and Anne Morriss astutely wrote in Harvard Business Review, “Culture guides discretionary behavior, and it picks up where the employee handbook leaves off…Culture tells us what to do when the CEO isn’t in the room, which is, of course, most of the time.”
The first week of employment is an opportune time to introduce workplace norms. What can seem obvious to a long-term employee are essential cues for newcomers. Start with the fundamentals of how things are done and feature the everyday practices of your most effective employees.
A good place to start is communication. Outline standards regarding protocols, systems and any absolutes about information sharing. If you are in a highly regulated industry and working with recent college graduates, they might be less familiar with compliance procedures. Teach them early so they can perform as required.
Another vital cue for new team members is standards related to decision making. Whether there are identified chains of command or you ascribe to an autonomous model, it’s helpful for them to understand their level of authority as well as any resource allocation or budgetary guidelines.
Scale deliberately.
As a company evolves, it’s likely to face inflection points that test its customs. You are far more likely to overcome obstacles when your workforce is trained in the ways of conducting business from the outset. Design and deploy acquisition and onboarding programs that allow your culture to prevail.
When your workforce can lean into the practices and nuances that make your company unique, you set the organization up to progress toward achieving its ambitions.
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