You’re interviewing a potential employee who has all the right skills. They check all the boxes on your list. But will they fit well into your company culture?
Company culture is the mission, values, and environment that your company conveys in its activities, business practices, and communication. Hiring employees who fit into your specific company culture is imperative to having a happy and engaged workforce. In fact, a recent survey revealed that company culture is the number one reason employees choose their new employer. So how can you convey company culture during your interview process to hire the very best employees? Let’s discuss a few ways below.
Here’s how to convey company culture during the interview process:
Talk about company benefits.
Your company benefits are likely an area that reveals your company culture. Do you offer a fantastic set of health benefits? What’s your vacation policy like? Do you pay employees to volunteer on company time? Are flexible schedules or remote work options available? What sorts of social events do you provide? All of these things throw light onto how the company values and treats its employees.
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If your company has a relaxed and open atmosphere, discussing social events, dress code (or lack thereof), and flexible work options will convey this. If your candidate is more of a suit-and-tie professional, this information will be important for him to know.
What’s your office space like?
The physical layout of your office space can convey your company culture. If your potential candidate is interviewing on-site, give them a tour. Whether employees are in their own office space or in an open-office atmosphere can communicate how closely or independently employees work.
If you’re interviewing a remote candidate via a video chat, your own home office space can give clues about company culture, and simply the fact that you work remotely will speak volumes about the company environment.
Interview the same way you hold meetings.
This is particularly helpful if you’re interviewing for a remote position. Using some of the same communication tools your company uses for remote employees will give your potential candidate a taste of what company life is like. Do you primarily use Skype for meetings? If so, utilize that for the interview process. Share documents in the same way you’d share them with employees during a meeting. Your interviewee will have a good feel for how communication works at your company.
Watch your language.
How do employees at your company interact with each other? Is it casual, professional, or personal? Do you share lots of personal stories, or does chat tend to stick to work-related topics? If your company is light-hearted and many employees have a personal connection with each other, interviewing in a super serious way may not convey this. While you want to be professional of course, interact with potential candidates the way you would with employees.
Use the interview process to let your company culture shine through to your candidates. Highlighting your company’s strong points will ensure the right candidates will join your team and stay happy, motivated employees.
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