Workplace culture is what makes your company unique and sets it apart from your competitors.
Having a strong positive culture based on your core values and beliefs is correlated with success and increases in productivity and profits, but only if your employees are a good fit.
It doesn’t matter how suitable their skills and experience are; if they don’t work well in your environment, the likelihood of them achieving and staying in the long-term is slim.
But, identifying those that will fit during the recruitment stage is a challenge – how do you know how someone will behave before you start working with them? Read on to find out!
Why workplace culture is important
The benefits of developing and maintaining an inspiring workplace culture are vast.
Firstly, it encourages existing employees to stay. If they believe in your core values, are comfortable at work and satisfied with their role, they have no need to look elsewhere.
This works to attract new employees also; if word spreads and reputation builds, high-calibre candidates will be looking for roles within your company - you’ll have your pick of the best.
Secondly, if employees’ values and beliefs are aligned with yours, and everyone is working towards a common goal, working relationships will be stronger, employee engagement higher and satisfaction greater.
Employees will also be more motivated and driven to achieve. The consequence of this is that stress levels will decrease while performance and productivity increase.
Conversely, having employees that don’t work well in your environment, whether because they prefer to work alone rather than in teams, or because they work better in a more relaxed environment where yours is high-pressure, can breed negativity and lead to low motivation, unhappiness and high employee turnover rates.
How to find an employee that fits
Finding an employee that will flourish in your work environment can be easier said than done, especially if you rely on the more traditional recruitment methods of CVs and interviews – they don’t let the true personality shine through and behaviour is almost impossible to assess in such a short time.
You can improve your chances by taking time to meet candidates more than once, especially if you hold the second interview into a more relaxed setting.
Meeting for coffee or a walk, somewhere outside the office, should show you a different side of candidates that you wouldn’t see in a formal interview setting.
Talking to others in your company about candidates can also provide valuable insight, particularly if they were the ones on the end of the phone or signing them in.
How candidates interact with those they don’t think have influence over their chances of being hired can be an eye-opener – were they polite?
But, even with these extra points, there is still an element of chance. You can, however, dramatically increase your odds of recruiting the right candidate by adding a scientific approach and including psychometrics in your process.
Psychometric tests measure how closely a candidate’s personality, behaviour and mental ability match your culture.
By analysing elements of a candidate’s personality, psychometric tests can determine how they are likely to behave at work, including how they will respond to stress and pressure; whether they prefer to work alone or as a team, and if they will take charge of a situation and make decisions or sit back and let someone else lead.
Having this information puts you in a strong position to make unbiased, calculated hiring decisions that have a strong chance of being successful.
How eTalent can help
eTalent’s unique Candidate Management System (CMS) incorporates psychometrics into the initial application process.
Rather than relying on CVs, candidates apply directly through an application form on your personalised portal, which includes psychometric and behavioural testing.
Therefore, you know instantly whether a candidate is likely to fit with your culture or not – no more scrutinising CVs and reading between the lines to try and figure it out.
With eTalent you’ll save time and money –
contact us to today to kickstart your recruitment process.
