We recommended the second option for hire, and the decision paid off. This manager quickly became a favorite within the company, both among executives and her department. She fostered cooperation and the morale of her teams was exceptional. By thinking about the company’s team focused culture and making it a priority in our screening, we helped land a strong hire who has been with the company for several years now. 

Hiring requires us to look for individuals who have the right combination of attributes — a good education, relevant job experience, and the right technical skill sets and knowledge. But culture fit is equally important if not more so in ensuring success and longevity. 

Hiring for culture fit is about bringing employees into the mix whose beliefs, behaviors, and values align with those of your organization. This is not the same as hiring people who merely share similar backgrounds and experiences. It’s essential to include diversity while hiring for culture fit because different perspectives and experiences will help your company improve and scale. When more emphasis is placed on the diversity aspect, it is sometimes viewed as hiring for culture add rather than culture fit.

I’ll get to why hiring for culture fit is important and share some tips for how to do it in a moment. But first, it helps to have a definition of company culture to work with. 

What Is Company Culture?

Defining company culture can be a challenge because it’s something that often evolves over time and is unique to each organization. 

I describe company culture as the “personality” behind the organization. If the company were a person, what would be their most prominent traits? For example, a client might prioritize fun and employee engagement, made evident by perks like a lax dress code, strong work/life balance, flexible scheduling, and regular company-wide social events. And just like a person, companies have values and those are part of the culture, too. The organization’s vision and approach to work play an important role in its “personality.” 

How you choose to define company culture is ultimately up to you, but ideally, it should be a statement or set of statements that define who you are as an organization and what it means to work for your company. 

Why Does Company Culture Matter?

No matter how you define it, your company culture is incredibly important. Employees who rate their organization’s culture as “good” or “excellent” are nearly eight times more likely to feel satisfied at work and are 83% less likely to be looking for a new job than those who rate their workplace culture as “poor” or “terrible.” So how does this relate to talent acquisition?

Having a strong culture that you can show off to candidates from the start gives prospective hires an expectation of what it’s like working for your business. A candidate gets a vibe on the culture from the moment they walk in the door for an interview. I can usually tell from an interviewee’s face if they’re liking what they see or if they’re rethinking their choice to apply. If they don’t feel like they would work well in that environment, they can look elsewhere before taking up any more of either party’s time. 

If you don’t address your culture in your hiring process, a candidate who isn’t a good fit may end up going through the entire process and being hired simply because neither party was aware of the mismatch. Considering the high cost of employee turnover, communicating company culture clearly to a candidate should be part of every recruiter’s checklist.

Your company culture doesn’t just help attract new talent, it helps keep your current talent satisfied and working for you rather than going to the competition. A happy, healthy work environment drives job satisfaction and employee engagement, which is one of the main reasons why hiring for culture fit should be an integral part of your hiring strategy.

While offering great salaries and benefits may get the best talent in the door, it takes much more to keep them there long-term. When your employees feel like they matter to you and are genuinely invested in your organization, they will be more loyal and passionate about helping to achieve your business goals.

The Impact of a Bad Culture Fit

To illustrate the repercussions of a poor cultural fit, I’ll share a story I’d honestly rather forget. 

I once brought in a recruiter with a very impressive resume who was used to working in high-pressure, corporate style environment. I believe strongly that I would rather submit one great candidate than 3 mediocre ones. We have turned down relationships with companies that don’t want to build a relationship and would rather have a vendor who slings resumes, and I see nothing wrong with that. This employee was used to being measured strictly on numbers and submitted many candidates in record time. While they met their metrics the candidate quality wasn’t there and they struggled to build relationships and anticipate client needs. All of this resulted in a high submit rate but a low hire rate. Against my better judgment, I tried to make it work with him for several months before finally conceding that we’d hired a mismatch. Ultimately, I pulled the plug on his contract prematurely. 

Culture fit is one of those things that’s easy to overlook when it exists, but that becomes much more obvious when it’s missing. Consider some of the impacts of hiring a candidate whose values, personality and goals don’t align with yours. 

Low employee morale and lost productivity are two of the largest hidden costs associated with a bad culture fit. If you bring in one bad hire who’s not a match for your culture, they can stick out like a sore thumb, alienating their peers and worse, feeling alienated themselves. 

As the saying goes, “one bad apple spoils the whole bunch.” When one person is pessimistic, always complaining, or just downright unhappy at work, it can create a negative working environment. This doesn’t just affect your employee’s attitude and mindset — it can affect their productivity, too. Think about it: when someone is miserable at work, it can be incredibly difficult for them to get excited about a project, produce quality work, or deliver high-quality customer service.

While disengagement and negativity are contagious at all levels, it becomes an especially big problem when the bad culture fit exists at a senior level. When a manager has a negative attitude, it will likely trickle down to the rest of their team. It’s not easy for a team to be happy, productive, and collaborative when their manager is undermining their ability to work well together and stay focused on the tasks at hand.

A manager who is a bad culture fit can introduce negative workplace practices that can take years to undo. Additionally, a manager who doesn’t get your company’s culture isn’t going to place a priority on hiring others who align with it, meaning a poor-fit manager who has any influence on hiring decisions can be especially dangerous.

Why Culture Fit Should Be Included in Your Hiring Strategy

To help make the case for prioritizing culture fit in your hiring strategy, here are a few of the biggest ways it can benefit your organization.

1. Culture fit plays a role in employee retention

If employees aren’t a good culture fit, they’re more likely to leave. Considering how costly employee turnover can be for businesses of any size, hiring for culture fit as part of your hiring strategy matters.

While increasing employee retention is important from a morale standpoint, decreasing employee turnover also significantly impacts your bottom line by:

• Reducing employee recruiting expenses,
• Cutting training costs, and
• Increasing productivity.

2. Hiring people who fit with your culture leads to better work

People who love their jobs and where they work tend to be more satisfied and perform at a higher level. If someone loves their job but is miserable where they work, it can lead to a lesser-quality performance that can affect your bottom line. This is a significant reason why hiring for culture fit as part of your hiring strategy matters.

When an employee works for a company in which they feel like they are at odds with the culture, it can lead to dissatisfaction that affects productivity. Examples include employees who may need specific direction when working on a project but work in environments that promote independence and self-direction, or employees who may want to take the initiative to head up projects but feel held back by leadership who want to micromanage everything.

3. Hiring for culture fit creates a more positive work environment

As we discussed above, hiring someone who isn’t a good culture fit can create a negative work environment. Someone who is miserable where they are may contribute to bringing down the morale of other employees and the workplace in general.

4. A strong company culture attracts top talent

While a good salary and employee benefits are among the top reasons why prospective employees choose to accept a job with an employer, culture fit is up there as well. If a candidate has concerns about whether they will fit into an organization culturally, they are less likely to accept a job – or to stay for long if they do accept it.

Communicating your company’s culture from the start helps prospective talent understand what they can expect to experience as an employee so they can make an informed decision about whether to move forward or look elsewhere. Considering how costly employee turnover can be, it’s vital to ensure that your organization’s company culture is positive, healthy, and is clearly communicated as part of your hiring strategy.

5. Company culture can engage and motivate employees

Employee engagement is directly tied to achieving organizational goals, retaining talent, and helping employees feel like they matter.

According to a Forbes interview with Kronos Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aron Ain, achieving employee engagement comes down to having a company culture that demonstrates open and transparent communication:

“The reason we have over 90% employee participation in our engagement surveys when we ask employees about it, they say, ‘It’s because you do something about it. We can tell if we gave you feedback, that my manager sits down and talks to our group about something that came from our area, and then we take action to correct it, and do better going forward.’ That’s very motivating for people.”

6. A strong company culture is an investment in your business

Having strong employee engagement is one of the strongest predictors of long-term business success. One great example is Fortune’s list of the top 100 companies to work for–those companies outperform the market by a factor of 3.36, which makes a massive financial impact when repeated year after year. 

Bascially, company culture is a form of currency, however, the currency isn’t just financial — it is also measured in terms of your organization’s credibility, reputation, and brand image.

7. A strong company culture supports a positive brand image

Your employees are your greatest ambassadors, both to prospective customers and potential new hires. Think of top-ranking companies like Bain & Company, Google, and LinkedIn—all of them are known to have employees who simply rave about working there, and it makes others want to do business with and for them. 

How to Hire for Culture Fit

Now that we’ve hammered home just how important company culture is and how a poor fit can negatively impact your whole organization, you’re probably thinking: “How can I avoid these problems? How am I supposed to know if a candidate will be a good culture fit until they’re already working for me?” I’ll try to help answer these questions. 

While there’s no foolproof way to determine a candidate’s true attitude and personality before you interact with them on a day-to-day basis, there are a few things you can do to get some insights before making a further investment. While it’s certainly not impossible, it does take a bit more effort and resources up-front — which will be well worth it in the long run. Follow these tips for effectively hiring for culture fit:

Clearly define your company culture and values

The first step to ensuring a potential hire is aligned with your company culture is to clearly define your mission and values. Why was the company founded? What goals do you strive to achieve through the work you do? What are the reasons to believe in the brand?

After clearly delineating these items, acquire company-wide buy-in and capture your company culture in your employee handbook so it can always be referenced. It’s also great to feature on the Careers page of your website. 

Reference your company culture in any advertising for the role

Company culture shouldn’t be an afterthought in your job listings–it should be a main focus. Make sure each job description includes a few lines about your culture and use verbiage that aligns with your values. Consider this blurb from beloved footwear brand Allbirds:

“We take our craft seriously, but not ourselves. As part of the Allbirds family, you can look forward to team lunches, color brainstorms, product tests, fun company outings, inspiring guest speakers, comfortable shoes, sheep puns, and lots of creative ideas.” 

Thanks to the descriptive language and specific details, candidates can immediately get an idea if they would be a fit for the work environment and whether they should apply. You can do the same with your job ads. 

Discuss those values during the interview process 

Be transparent about what your day-to-day workplace atmosphere looks like (something we should have done better when interviewing our tightly wound consultant). Tell candidates about any culture initiatives such as a company wellness program or monthly social outings that your team members can participate in and emphasize how they contribute to a positive, healthy work environment.

Ask culture fit interview questions that relate directly to these values

Ask culture fit interview questions such as, “How would you handle yourself if faced with XYZ ethical dilemma,” or, “How would you treat a fellow employee in XYZ situation” to uncover if their answers align with your values. Follow-up questions like “what made you decide to do that?” or “tell me more about that” can reveal further insight into the candidate’s thinking, values, and work style. 

Get to know potential candidates on a more personal level

In a formal interview setting, it can be hard to gauge someone’s personality and character. Consider taking a top candidate to chat over coffee, grab lunch, or participate in a company-wide social event to see how they mesh with other team members before investing in hiring them.

Leverage pre-employment assessments 

There are numerous pre-employment assessments on the market that can be used to help evaluate job candidates for both hard skills (such as typing speed and math skills) as well as “soft” skills like communication and teamwork. You can even create ideal personality profiles for various roles and see how candidates match up — for example, a customer service role should be filled by someone who is friendly and helpful, not shy.

Focus on company culture during onboarding

While onboarding should cover processes and day-to-day job role responsibilities, it is also the ideal time to go over your company culture. Don’t just assume your new hires understand your values and how you expect them to carry themselves and treat others in the organization — clearly explain it to them before their new role gets underway.

Check-in with new hires

Check-in with your new hires at the end of their first day, week, and month to ensure they feel like they are fitting in with your culture and are comfortable in your workplace environment. This way, if there’s a problem, it can hopefully be addressed quickly before it escalates or spreads.

Turn to a professional staffing agency or headhunter

The cost of a bad hire can be mitigated by turning to professional recruiters or headhunters. There are seemingly endless benefits of working with a staffing agency — especially if you’re having difficulties placing talent on your own. Professional recruiters and headhunters can leverage their vast candidate networks, experience, and expertise to ensure they are placing the best possible candidate from both a culture and job skills perspective.

Have Confidence in Hiring a Strong Culture Fit By Partnering With a Staffing Agency

We’re a professional recruiting and staffing firm that works with clients across the country to ensure they are hiring the right candidate every time.

Our success as a staffing agency was built by combining performance and effectiveness with unmatched personal client service. Our unique ability to combine culture fit with technical requirements has earned 4CR a reputation as a highly trusted recruiting partner to clients and candidates alike.

To learn how we can leverage our professional networks and recruitment expertise to effectively place a candidate who is both a job role and culture fit in your organization, reach out to us today.

Why Is Virtual Team Building Important?

When building a remote team, you need people who work well together and are productive. If your team is unfamiliar with each other or they’ve hit a stagnant point in productivity, some friendly activities can help. Virtual team building can increase team efficiency, help the group work past any problems or frustrations, build friendships, and increase employee understanding. All of which leads to happier, more connected relationships. Those who feel connected as a group ultimately stay longer in the company, and they tend to be more dedicated to their work.

How Do You Do Team Building Remotely?

Virtual team building can occur over a conference call, video meeting, or email. Most virtual activities will include fun get-to-know-you games (for new teams), harder guessing games or goal sharing, and even a peek into each team member’s life. To do remote team building well, you’ll need to do a few things first.

Here’s what you need for virtual team building:

• Make sure everyone has the tools needed to log on and do the activities
• Set clear time limits so you don’t overrun
• Ensure one person is handling the different games, time limits, invites, and more
• Have the games pre-planned so you’re not wasting time
• Be sure the activities build team connections rather than pushing them further apart

Is In-Person Team Building Better Than Virtual Team Building?

If you can do team-building activities in person, you may wonder if there’s really any benefit to doing them virtually. While in-person activities can provide for a lot of collaboration and, let’s be honest, a few more game options, virtual team building is just as good. We’d even argue that virtual can be better!

Benefits of remote team building

It’s normal for people to feel overwhelmed or embarrassed when tasked with playing games in front of others. However, these individuals often blossom and easily get into team activities when done on-screen. Another benefit to virtual team building is that it’s much more flexible. Nearly everyone can carve out time to hop on a video call, but not everyone can commit to the same time and date for in-person activities.

Online activities for groups can boost morale, just like in-person activities. With more people participating online, you’ll have a much more cohesive team, and many individuals will be more willing to jump on a video call than carve out a full day of meetings at the office.

Related: How to Improve Collaboration in the Workplace

15 Fun Virtual Team Building Activities 

One of the biggest worries about online group activities is that they’ll be lame. However, these virtual activities are far from that. If you’re working to build connections with your virtual team, these fun online activities will keep both you and your employees entertained.

1. Favorite things

Since showing your home on a video call can cause some social anxiety, choose a lighter, easier version of this game by showing a few of your favorite things. Have each team member choose three or four of their favorite things in their home. They can talk about each item and explain why it’s important to them. You’ll get to see fun things, like vacation souvenirs, and wholesome things, like family pictures and pets. It’s an enjoyable way to break the ice!

2. Personal guessing game

This game requires a little bit of planning, but it’s another easy activity that will help open up virtual team building. You’ll need each team member to send three facts about themselves to the leader (the person coordinating this all ahead of time). Then, the leader will read off each fact. The rest of the team members have to guess which fact belongs to who! People can make their facts as obscure as possible, for teams who have worked together a while, or easy for those teams who don’t know each other yet.

3. Escape room

There are plenty of online escape rooms that you can do as a virtual team. These escape rooms require you to work together to solve puzzles and clues so you can “get out” of the virtual trap. Plan to spend anywhere from 30-60 minutes on this, depending on which escape room you go with. These escape rooms are fun and make the team work together to find a solution.

4. Think outside the box

Ask your team members a series of lateral questions. These types of questions make you think outside the box, and team members will have to openly discuss each situation to try and come to a conclusion. For example, one question is, “There are a dozen eggs in a carton. Twelve people each take a single egg, but there is one egg left in the carton. How?” The team will work together to try and get to a logical conclusion.

5. Tell a story

Want to get a bit creative? This virtual team-building activity focuses on creativity. Have the leader start off a story. They can say anything, like, “Eric saw two seashells. After picking up the seashells, he tripped and fell into the ocean. He wanted to get out, but…” and then the next person would have to complete that line and continue the story. Everyone will have to focus and listen to hear the story, but they’ll also use their critical thinking skills and creativity to be able to finish the story.

6. Work bingo

A fun activity you can do while doing other games is work bingo. This occurs simultaneously while doing the other activities. You get to cross off a bingo spot whenever you hear someone say specific things, like, “Sorry, I was muted,” or see someone do specific things, like “Chair yoga.” 

7. Show your emojis

You can tell a lot about a person by checking out their most-used emojis. This is a fun and silly game that takes less than fifteen minutes. You have to get each player to screenshot a photo of their most frequently used emojis. Then, they need to send it to the leader. The leader will show each group of frequently used emojis, and everyone will guess who they think they belong to.

8. Online gaming session

Sometimes, a good online gaming session can just make things more fun! Setting aside a regular time when everyone comes to play a game is a great option. You can do this weekly or monthly and choose games like Among Us, Uno, and more!

9. Take a personality assessment

Another great way to have people get to know each other (and understand each other more) is to take a personality assessment. These do take a bit of time to complete, so you can have each team member take it beforehand to save time. One of the most popular is the Myers-Briggs assessment. This will tell you in-depth information about your personality; everyone can share their assigned type. This can help people better understand how to approach each team member, leading to better collaboration, fewer arguments, and a more seamless team!

10. Friendly typing competition

You can do a typing speed competition to keep things easy, add a little excitement, and get some competitive spirit flowing. Have everyone get on the same online typing speed test and take it together! Whoever can type the most words per minute can win a prize.

11. Trivia 

Replicate the fun of popular trivia nights by creating your own virtual knowledge competition. Select a topic that’s accessible to everyone, like sitcoms or music, and then use a tool like ChatGPT to generate trivia questions about that topic. Designate one person as the “host” and break the rest of the staff into small teams. Then, have the host ask questions and keep track of correct answers to see which team comes out on top. A trivia competition themed around your own workplace can add another layer of fun and humor to the event. 

12. Book club

A book club is one offline activity that translates pretty easily to a virtual setting. Ahead of time, select a piece of material that everyone will read. To make it practical for more people to participate, consider choosing a shorter text like an article or white paper instead of a book. Then, at a designated time, gather via an online meeting platform to discuss what you read and take turns sharing answers to a few question prompts. 

13. Virtual cooking class

Arrange a virtual cooking, baking, or mixology class where a professional demonstrates how to prepare a dish or beverage. Team members can replicate the effort in their own kitchens and then spend some time socializing while enjoying their respective finished products. 

14. Who’s who?

In advance, have team members submit photos from their distant past, like baby pictures or prom glamor shots. Display the photos individually and see if you can recognize one another’s younger faces. This is a fun one to do at the top of a Zoom meeting!

15. Wellness challenge

Organize accessible wellness activities like yoga, indoor walking, or meditation and periodically participate together. Afterward, team members can discuss their progress, share milestones, and motivate one another to stick with it. 

Tips for Successful Remote Team Building

If you want to have the best virtual team building possible, follow these tips for a fun and successful day:

• Be sure everyone feels included
• Ask which games people prefer to play ahead of time
• Encourage each person to test their video and sound before the meeting
• Allow everyone to give feedback afterward so you can better plan future events

Connect with Remote Staffing Experts Today

As a trusted partner, our team of remote staffing recruiters will help you find top talent fast. Whether you have a niche to fill, an urgent remote staffing need, or you’re open to hiring remote staff in your business, we can help.  As experienced flexible staffing experts, our goal is to help you grow by finding qualified candidates fast. 

Contact us today to learn about our industry-leading remote staffing services and how we can help you quickly find high-caliber candidates.  

There are several factors that may contribute to a changing company culture, from a shift in how you do business to a change in the types of workers you need to hire.

Whatever the reason behind it, changing company culture is something you want to stay ahead of and actively manage rather than waiting it out to see where the tide takes you. Read on to learn more about some of the factors behind culture shifts and gain six strategies for effective culture change management. 

The Importance of Company Culture

Asking why company culture matters is like asking why an individual’s personality matters; it’s a major defining feature that bleeds through into nearly everything the person–or, in this case, the company–does. Here are a few of the things impacted by company culture.

Employee satisfaction

Company culture, in large part, determines whether employees feel like they belong. A sense of belonging is closely linked with higher job satisfaction, which in turn is tied to more robust employee engagement, higher productivity, and lower turnover. 

Retention

Companies with a healthy culture give employees reasons to stay. Higher retention means lower recruitment costs and fewer negative impacts from excessive vacancies. Absenteeism tends to be lower in companies with a strong culture as well.

Related: Effective Strategies for Employee Retention

Recruiting

It’s easier to attract top talent when your organization is known for being a great place to work. A positive employer reputation means more high-quality applicants for each of your openings, making recruiting easier, faster, and less expensive.

Innovation

When a company has a culture that embraces and promotes creativity, employees feel like they can share ideas freely. This is a strong driver of innovation, which can better position businesses to compete in their respective markets. 

Collaboration

Employees don’t always need to agree, but they do need to be able to find common ground. In a healthy culture, teammates can collaborate productively, and channels are available for effective conflict resolution. 

Related: How to Improve Collaboration in the Workplace

Business outcomes

While it’s difficult to quantify culture and definitively tie it to a financial figure, there’s no doubt that the effects of a positive workplace culture–less burnout, higher productivity, happier workers–are better for business than the conditions found in a toxic work environment. 

What is Culture Change Management?

Culture change management is a strategic approach to altering a company’s defining characteristics, including its values, mission, and business practices. It’s not as simple as changing the company’s PTO policy or holding more team-building events (although these can certainly be tactics within a broader culture change program). Rather, culture change management is a thoughtful, comprehensive process executed with the goal of driving transformative change within a workplace. 

What Motivates a Changing Company Culture?

Sometimes, a culture shift begins to take shape independently, spurred by internal factors or external changes outside of your control. Other times, cultural change is something you need to initiate to remedy an organizational problem, like lagging performance or behavioral issues. Here are a few of the biggest factors that prompt a changing company culture. 

Sudden growth 

If you undergo a phase of rapid development, you’re probably hiring a large volume of new employees with more diverse skill sets. When your employee base grows and changes, your company culture usually does, too.  

Changes to your business model 

If you adjust the services you offer, the products you produce, or the clientele you target, you may need to change your culture to better align with your new strategy. Likewise, changing how you work, like moving to a remote work model or changing the structure of your departments, will affect how your employees interact with one another and, in turn, change your culture. 

Performance issues 

Does your company culture encourage innovation, enthusiasm, and hard work, or does it dampen these things? If it’s the latter, it’s probably time to adopt a culture that better supports your values.  

Mergers, acquisitions, crises, market shifts 

All of these things can have a very real impact on the way your employees feel about their jobs and the company. Suppose you’re undergoing a merger or are in the wake of a crisis. In that case, it’s important to stay on top of culture change management to avoid collateral damage that will make the situation more challenging to manage.  

Successful Culture Change Management Strategies to Implement

Align your culture with your business strategy

If your company culture and business strategy are at odds, you’re setting yourself up for a dysfunctional workplace that can turn into a retention and recruiting nightmare. 

What do we mean by culture-strategy alignment? Let’s say your business model requires a lot of collaboration, with projects that require employees to work closely on teams to meet tight deadlines. If you have a culture where competitiveness and office gossip thrive, it will undermine the strong professional relationships needed to get the work done. 

Thus, you should clearly map out cultural goals that align with your larger operational strategy. Choose values based not on what sounds pleasant or feels like it would be “nice to have” but on what will actually contribute to achieving your overarching business goals. 

Prioritize the most impactful changes

Scientists studying habit formation have found that repetition is key when you’re looking to adopt change. But they also made another stark discovery: it’s almost impossible to change more than one thing at a time when it comes to habits. 

Whether it’s a personal habit like unloading the dishwasher every night or an organizational habit like uplifting your employees, your success in making the change will depend upon your singular focus. So, create a priority list of the most important cultural changes you want to make and focus on taking action on just one item at a time. Only once you’ve made progress on one thing (which experts say can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days) should you tackle the next one. 

Assign ownership

You wouldn’t plan a major marketing campaign without putting someone in charge or setting up a media interview without designating a spokesperson. For any important initiative, someone needs to be at the helm, and changing company culture is no different. 

Assign a point person or team to take ownership of culture change management in your organization. Some companies have a designated role for this duty, like a chief people officer or director of culture, while for others, it falls to the HR department. 

Whatever the case may be at your organization, don’t leave cultural change up to chance. Select a people-oriented leader who holds the trust of your employees and the ear of your biggest stakeholders—this is the type of person who will be most effective at driving cultural change.  

Keep what’s working

Even when your culture changes, there may be elements of the “old” way of being that are working and worth holding onto. For many employees, your culture will presumably make them want to work for you in the first place, so there’s value in maintaining those positive elements. Remember, any cultural changes you’re making should have a definitive business alignment, not just be a change for its own sake. 

Additionally, holding onto the core parts of your culture that make you who you are as a company is a way of preserving your roots, which is especially important for keeping your employees engaged during periods of change or growth. It’s possible to strive for positive cultural change while staying true to the most important vision or values that have been with you from the start. 

Involve your employees

We’ve heard it said that you can never expect 100% buy-in from anyone who wasn’t directly involved in making a decision. In our experience, this holds true. Still, employee buy-in is an important factor in ensuring cultural change is implemented and sticks for the long term. So, the more you can involve employees in the process, the better. 

First and foremost, don’t let cultural change come as a surprise or be heard through the grapevine. Inform your staff of what’s changing and why clear communication supports all levels of leadership. 

Other tools, like surveys and focus groups, can be used to gather employee feedback on the shape and direction of the changing company culture. Employee involvement can make the difference between a ho-hum, just-punching-the-clock workforce and one where employees are excited and passionate about their work. 

Monitor your cultural evolution

Though company culture is indeed something that is felt more than seen or heard, there are tangible ways to measure it, and it’s essential to do so. If you don’t, how will you gauge the effectiveness of your culture change management efforts and, more importantly, the resources you’ve invested in them?

Set behavioral KPIs that tie measurable data points to your culture goals. For example, suppose one of your goals is to encourage a culture of leadership. In that case, you might keep tabs on how many employees are promoted from within, how many hold leadership positions in community organizations, and how much of your budget is being allocated to leadership development programs. 

You’ll also want to set and track business KPIs to link your cultural changes to their strategic impact. For example, if you want to increase employee engagement because it leads to better customer service, you might use metrics like customer satisfaction ratings or net promoter scores. 

Finally, you can track the success of your culture change management through anecdotal evidence shared by employees. Asking staffers to share stories demonstrating what your culture means to them or how it has evolved is a great way to measure change and involve them in the process, as we touched on earlier. 

Challenges of Managing Culture Change and How to Handle It

Resistance to change

It’s normal for change to be met with resistance. In the case of a shifting company culture, the changes taking place can feel massive, which can understandably cause uncertainty, fear, and pushback among some team members. Overcome resistance by being transparent and communicating often. Engage employees in the process of making adjustments when possible, like via focus groups and feedback surveys, and model change from the top down. 

Misaligned visions

Rarely is there one person steering a company’s cultural ship. Many stakeholders will likely be involved in culture change management, and they may not always agree on the best approach. Avoid conflicting visions by directly defining the outcomes you want to achieve from effecting cultural change (Strengthening morale? Improving talent acquisition? Course-correcting a negative reputation?). Ensure that each part of the culture change strategy maps clearly to these goals. 

Lack of consistency

When transforming an organization’s culture, actions speak louder than words. If company leaders don’t fully support or engage in culture change directives, it can cause confusion, distrust, and resentment. Conducting regular monitoring and holding managers accountable for progress in key areas will help keep everyone on the same page and moving steadily toward the same goals. 

Translate Culture Fit into Hiring Success with 4 Corner Resources

Making the right hire is about more than just a list of skills on paper. Culture fit is equally important in a new hire’s success on the job and effectiveness in their position. 

At 4 Corner Resources, we look beyond the resume to identify candidates with the right blend of technical expertise and personality traits that will enable them to thrive within your organization. We work to understand what makes you tick as a company—where you’ve been, where you’re headed, and your future goals—so we can help you build the team you need to succeed. 

We look forward to the opportunity to serve as your trusted staffing partner and invite you to schedule your free consultation today.

A thriving, successful mentoring plan that emphasizes workplace well-being and employee development doesn’t just happen on its own. So, how do you start growing knowledge in your organization through mentoring? How do you plan, sustain, and guide participants through the mentoring process? And finally, how can you continually improve the program you create? We will answer these questions below to help you create a successful program.

What is a Workplace Mentorship Program?

A workplace mentorship program is an employee development initiative that pairs senior employees, or mentors, with junior team members or mentees for coaching, training, and support. Employers organize and run workplace mentorship programs to achieve specific organizational goals, such as advancing employees’ skills and molding future leaders. 

Mentorship programs in the workplace can take various forms, from informal, loosely structured programs to formal arrangements that follow a precise set of practices. A successful mentoring program can improve an organization’s culture while strengthening its workforce and providing individual benefits to all participants. 

Benefits of Implementing a Workplace Mentorship Program

Here are some key advantages of mentorship in the workplace. 

Improved retention

A mentorship program is a tangible way for an organization to demonstrate its investment in its employees. When employees feel supported and see a clear path forward within their company, they’re less likely to seek opportunities elsewhere, which reduces turnover. 

Skill development

Mentors can provide coaching and training to refine mentees’ job-related skills. By learning from someone who’s done the job successfully, mentees will pick up knowledge and techniques to do their jobs better and more efficiently, which enhances productivity. 

Knowledge transfer

If you’ve ever had a critical team member out sick when an important project was due, you’ve probably experienced the challenges of knowledge transfer firsthand. When only one or two people hold crucial business information, operations are at a high risk of disruption should that person quit, retire, or otherwise be out of commission. Mentorship facilitates the transfer of information and experience from one person and generation to another, keeping operations running smoothly. 

Succession planning

A mentorship program helps identify and train the organization’s future leaders. In addition to helping with strategic succession planning, this also simplifies hiring since promoting from within is typically faster and less costly than hiring externally. 

Higher employee satisfaction

Mentorship provides individual benefits that promote a healthy and positive employee experience. Mentors feel personal satisfaction from giving back to the next generation, while mentees gain confidence and feel a sense of support from their more experienced peers. 

Related: How to Measure Employee Satisfaction

Types of Mentorship Programs

One-on-one mentoring

One-on-one mentoring pairs a single mentor with a single mentee for a personalized learning experience. This type of mentorship program allows the mentee to receive focused attention and tailored feedback, which are great for targeted skill development and career advancement. One-on-one mentoring is conducive to the development of long-term relationships. 

Group mentoring

In a group mentoring program, one mentor is matched with two or more mentees for guidance in a collaborative setting. This type of program structure facilitates shared learning and networking among participants, which is useful for team building and developing a more cohesive culture. 

Leadership mentoring

A leadership mentoring program is a good choice for organizations looking to identify high-potential employees and prepare them for leadership positions. Mentors, who are experienced leaders, help mentees develop leadership skills like strategic thinking, decision-making, and team management and offer guidance on nuanced subjects like navigating workplace politics. 

Diversity-focused mentoring

Diversity-focused mentoring aims to support employees from diverse backgrounds with mentorship tailored to their unique challenges and opportunities. Mentors can guide navigating cultural dynamics, overcoming systemic barriers, and leveraging their diverse perspectives beneficially. Such a program is a meaningful way to support and develop under-represented groups in an organization. 

Reverse mentoring

Reverse mentoring flips the traditional mentoring model, with the younger team member acting as the mentor and the elder acting as the mentee. This type of program can help bridge generational gaps, foster mutual understanding, and facilitate more productive communication among different age groups in the workforce. Senior employees can gain fresh perspectives and insights into emerging trends, while junior employees gain leadership experience and hone their communication skills. 

How Do You Start a Mentoring Program at Work?

1. Create a purpose and set goals

When creating a workplace mentorship program, the first thing to do is ask why you’re doing this. Then, you need to figure out goals to fit that purpose. These goals will depend on who your employees are, what you need them to learn, and what motivates your employees. What will success look like for the mentees and mentors? To attract people to the program, finding out what will motivate them is vital to designing a program that delivers value.

Don’t make assumptions when setting goals for your mentoring program. Find out the key reasons why your employees would want to get involved in mentoring. What are they (or your company) hoping to achieve by signing up? This allows you to design a program that will fit your business needs and the needs of your employees. Garnering input from potential participants in advance will do wonders to attract participation.

The next question to ask is what you’re trying to achieve as an organization when initiating a mentoring program. Think about how you’re going to measure your success as well. Develop those goals into specific, attainable, relevant objectives that you can measure. These key performance indicators (KPIs) will allow you to define the success of your program.

Design the mentoring program

The next step is design. When you sit down to design your action plan, you’ll have several things to think about. You’ll want to have a mentorship program that is both structured and flexible. Structure helps participants progress toward defined goals, and flexibility is crucial to encompass a variety of individual mentoring needs, goals, preferences, and learning styles.

Make sure to ask these questions when creating a workplace mentorship program:

1. Who will be able to participate? (all employees or invite only)
2. How will you launch the program?
3. How are mentors and mentees matched? (one on one, a group, project)
4. How long will the mentoring relationship last? (weeks/months)
5. What are the expectations of mentors and mentees?
6. What will the mentoring style be? (traditional, flash, reverse)
7. How will you monitor progress and report success?

Many of the questions you’ll be asking at this stage will depend on the type of organization you have and the objectives you’ve identified for the program. Try to be detailed when mapping out your workplace mentoring program by providing details on key actions, timeframes, resources, and criteria for moving to the next phase. Mark areas that will require some flexibility to support employees. Not everything will go as planned, so be sure to give yourself some room regarding time and expectations!

Find mentors & mentees

What happens frequently is a company will do all the hard work to define its mentoring program, set it up, stir up enthusiasm, kick it off, and end up with low participation rates. That’s because a major piece of a successful mentoring program is promoting it. You’ll need to make sure the onboarding process is working effectively. So, how do you attract people to your mentoring program? Motivation to participate will vary based on your employees, so you must think outside the box to make it truly successful. 

Match mentors and mentees

Matching mentors and mentees can be a tricky process. Success hinges on putting together the right combinations of people, yet matching is often one of the more challenging hurdles you’ll face. So, how do you match a great selection of participants once you’ve signed up? It’s hard to say because sometimes, a good match for one person could be bad for another.

Several options are available. You could allow mentees to choose a mentor independently or have the program managers match them. Allowing mentees to select a mentor is easier, but it might result in less-than-desirable matches. Program managers can match participants based on criteria such as developmental goals, background, skills, location, and/or relevant experience and interests. Another matching option is using mentoring software, such as Chronus. This method works much the same way as having a program manager match participants, but it removes the possibility of human bias from the selection process.

Related: How to Be a Good Mentor

Keep participants motivated

After signing up, training, and matching your mentors and mentees, you’ll want to ensure the program works for them. You’re not out of the woods. Mentoring isn’t something many people are used to, and without the proper motivation, you could quickly lose the success of your program. So, what can you do to make sure participants and mentors stay motivated throughout the process?

Each mentor-mentee relationship should have a solid plan outlined, a clear direction from the start, and checkpoints along the way to verify that specific goals are being achieved. Have them create SMART goals for their mentorship program. This adds accountability and a sense of accomplishment when goals are met. Check in with participants frequently to ensure they are on track. You can also have them periodically give you reports and feedback.

Another way to maintain momentum in a mentoring program is to keep all participants updated. It may help to have a monthly newsletter or even regular Zoom calls with each partnership where you can give them tips on anything they’re struggling with. If you meet as a group, make sure you celebrate the successes of the different mentorship partnerships. This can also help keep up motivation.

Measure your mentorship program’s success

Measuring the success of a mentoring program against its objectives is an important step. Lots of time and effort go into starting and maintaining a mentoring program, and participants put in their valuable time in hopes of achieving their goals. To have future success with workplace mentorship programs, you need to report your positive or negative results. Look at the program and the connection between the different mentorship partners and how the mentees have improved.

Make sure you also gather feedback from everyone who participated. It’s important to see if the mentors and mentees were satisfied with how the program turned out. Ask if the mentees have reached their goals. And if not, figure out why that happened. Also, ask the mentors if they’d be interested in mentoring again. If so, you can count on them in the future. If not, you can ask why and try to fix that for future mentors. Sending out a survey is an easy way to gather all of this information.

How to Ensure a Successful Workplace Mentorship Program

‍1. Communicate the benefits for mentors and mentees

Never assume that people will know the benefits of a mentoring program. What drives interest in people is highlighting what’s in it for them. Emphasize the positives throughout the mentoring process. It can be especially hard to attract and keep good mentors. One way to do this is to recognize them for their involvement or offer an incentive formally.

‍2. Remove as many obstacles as possible

The easier you make it to do something, the more participation you’ll have. People generally don’t sign up for activities because they lack the time or don’t want the commitment. Make it clear from the start what the expected time and commitment involved will be. Make mentoring as flexible as possible to accommodate a broader range of participants. Be sure to accentuate the benefits even though it might cost people a little extra time.

‍3. Include training and preparation materials

The more informed people are, the more likely they are to participate. Offering training and preparation materials is a good way to accomplish this. You can help mentors and mentees by clarifying their objectives, roles, and the overall mentoring process for them. Continuing to provide training and guidance throughout the mentoring program will help participants stay on track, achieve their goals, and get the most out of the program.

Related: How to Invest in Employee Development

4. Get key stakeholders and leaders on board

Investing in key leaders and stakeholders is a great way to ignite interest in your mentoring program. Let them know the program’s benefits and why they should be involved.

Examples of Great Company Mentorship Programs

Here are a few examples of how organizations achieve goals through successful mentoring programs. 

Securing top talent with role-specific mentoring

As one of the “big four” accounting firms, KPMG employs some 270,000 people worldwide. Naturally, that means they’re constantly in need of top accounting talent. The company secures a steady stream of skilled financial professionals through its CPA training mentorship. 

The intensive program offers employees a comprehensive set of resources to help them earn their CPA credentials. Through expert coaching, interactive workshops, and an exam boot camp, employees gain tailored support and a sense of community as they prepare for the rigorous exam. Hundreds of employees obtain their CPA designation every year after completing the program. 

Gaining perspective through reverse mentoring

Virgin Atlantic CEO Craig Kreeger wanted to create a more inclusive organization. However, he realized that making his company more equitable would only be possible with a thorough understanding of the challenges faced by people in under-represented groups, like women and people of color. He contacted junior team member Patrice Mantey, a Black woman, and asked her to be his reverse mentor. 

By working with Mantey, Kreeger better understood her experiences and how they had shaped her life, which then informed more inclusive decision-making. Mantey went on to become the head of the company’s reverse mentoring program, which brings more awareness to unique perspectives within the company. 

Mentoring for retention and career longevity

Being a firefighter isn’t just a job; it’s a calling for many. However, it’s a vocation that requires putting your life on the line with every shift. Firefighters at the Pflugerville, Texas Fire Department are setting new cadets up for a long and fulfilling career while setting appropriate expectations through group mentoring.

In monthly sessions, seasoned firefighters meet with the newest class of recruits to candidly discuss some of the profession’s most important aspects, including line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) and scenarios cadets are likely to face during their early days on the job. In addition to building awareness about what’s ahead, the program could potentially save lives by sharing lessons learned from past LODDs. 

Start a Workplace Mentorship Program with 4 Corner Resources

A mentoring program at work is a powerful asset for developing, engaging, and retaining your employees. The time, effort, and resources involved are well worth the positive impact on your organization. Following this guide will help you build a successful mentoring program to achieve your organization’s and your people’s goals. Need help hiring people you can trust to be the mentors in your organization? We’re experts in helping employers find the best talent for your organization. Schedule a call with us today to get started!

In an era where most adults feel that a more diverse society is a positive thing, it’s a little contradictory that one of the most prominent hiring strategies focuses on onboarding people who are all the same. 

Today, many talent acquisition leaders are casting aside culture fit in favor of a more inclusive–and likely more profitable–hiring strategy: culture add. We’ll explain what culture add is, how it differs from culture fit, and how to identify it when interviewing prospective candidates.

What Is Culture Add?

Culture add focuses on the unique contributions a candidate can make to an organization. What would this particular person bring to the table that’s different from all the other candidates or the company’s existing employees? Culture add is about celebrating individuality and promoting the input different types of people can offer. 

When you hire for culture add, you actively seek out qualities, perspectives, and personalities that don’t already exist on the team. The goal is to build a more well-rounded, holistic workforce. 

Culture add is supported by the many well-documented benefits of diverse teams in the workplace. A McKinsey report found that companies with less homogenous teams were more likely to have higher-than-average financial gains, especially if diversity existed within management. In another study of diverse versus non-diverse teams, the diverse teams proved more objective, accurate, and innovative than their non-diverse counterparts when completing various group tasks. 

Working on a more diverse team indeed takes additional effort–participants must spend more time actively listening and attempting to see other points of view, for example. But the outcomes for business can pay off in terms of higher profitability and greater innovation. There’s also a greater sense of belonging among employees, which can boost retention.

Culture Add vs. Culture Fit: What’s the Difference?

So, what’s the difference between culture add and culture fit?

Culture fit describes a candidate who conforms to a company’s norms, ascribes to its values, and follows its existing way of doing things. Hiring for culture fit means seeking out candidates who are likely to share a team’s perspectives and prefer the same work style as their colleagues. 

Culture add describes a candidate with a diverse perspective or different work style than what already exists on the team. Various types of diversity can contribute to culture add: demographic diversity, like age and gender; cognitive diversity, which means having a different point of view; and experiential diversity, which refers to the unique life experiences that shape how a person sees the world and operates within it. 

Related: Importance of Age Diversity

The Problem With Culture Fit

Hiring for culture fit is a noble ambition. It’s supposed to mean hiring people aligned with the organization’s operations. For example, “employees who thrive here value collaboration and teamwork instead of a lone-wolf mentality.” In theory, hiring for culture fit increases efficiency, streamlines decision-making, and ensures a high level of commitment to the company’s larger goals. 

In practice, however, many organizations get culture fit wrong. It’s all too easy for culture fit to be interpreted as hiring people who are “like me,” i.e., someone you can imagine grabbing a beer with or someone who’d be a great addition to the company’s rec softball team. 

Take, for example, a company that makes a vegan product. If the idea of culture fit is overemphasized, hiring managers could easily envision weeding out candidates who eat meat or wear leather. This is a low-stakes example, but more problematic cases exist in many industries.

Relying too heavily on cultural fit is a slippery slope that can become a crutch for lazy hiring and an excuse for maintaining the status quo. It threatens diversity and can lead to groupthink, which inhibits innovation.

If you’ve used culture fit as a hiring benchmark, you don’t have to abandon it completely. However, it’s a good idea to examine how it impacts your team’s makeup. It might be time to start emphasizing culture add instead of fit. 

Related: How to Hire for Diversity

The Benefits of Hiring for Culture Add

Hiring for culture add can benefit your organization in a number of ways. Here are a few of the top upsides to consider.

Supports diversity, equity, and inclusion

Diversity, equity, and inclusion, also known as DEI, is a business philosophy in which people of all backgrounds are accepted and supported. In addition to promoting equitable treatment of employees and helping all team members feel like they belong, DEI expands your hiring pool. Seeking out diverse candidates means you’re more apt to consider talented workers from ALL backgrounds, not just those that look similar to yours. 

Promotes an evolving culture

When you have many employees with similar experience and viewpoints, it’s easy to get tunnel vision. This doesn’t leave a lot of room for growth. Hiring employees who bring something new to the table means your company culture is always evolving. It’s easier to adapt to keep up with changes in the market and shifts in the workforce and society as a whole. All of this makes your company a more attractive workplace and a more formidable industry force. 

Provides fresh ideas

Hiring for culture add means onboarding team members with new skills, different sets of experience, diverse perspectives, and unique ways of doing things. Fresh ideas make innovating easier, which is an advantage in a competitive market. 

How to Hire for Culture Add

Follow these steps to adopt a hiring strategy that prioritizes culture add. 

1. Educate your hiring team 

Now that you’ve read up on the topic, you know the difference between culture fit and culture add. But don’t assume that’s true for everyone on your hiring team. Provide training and education to ensure everyone involved in the hiring process has a solid understanding of culture add, its impact on your hiring benchmarks, and specific examples of qualities they should be looking for when hiring. Simply calling attention to your focus on culture add is a great first step in expanding awareness about this important hiring goal. 

2. Incorporate it into your interview process

Though culture add is an intangible quality, you don’t have to (and shouldn’t!) rely on your gut to find it. It should be a concrete criteria you assess when hiring, right alongside technical skills and relevant experience. Use strategic interview questions to understand the diverse qualities, viewpoints, and approaches a candidate could bring to your team. You’ll find a list of suggested interview questions to help identify culture add below. 

3. Change up your interview format

In addition to expanding your interview questions, you can change your interview structure to gain a broader view on culture add. Group interviews, which involve more than one candidate, offer a valuable glimpse of how unique applicants might mesh with one another and as part of your team. Panel interviews, which have more than one interviewer, allow you to incorporate more diverse perspectives into your hiring decision.   

4. Use assessments  

While the interview process is a crucial tool for identifying culture add, it’s also susceptible to human bias. For a more objective view of the capabilities a candidate has to offer, consider implementing pre-hire assessments. These science-backed tests focus on specific aspects of a candidate, like their preferences and behavior. Test Gorilla is just one example of an assessment platform with a dedicated culture add assessment. 

5. Leverage employee surveys

Hiring for culture add has to come from the top, but it’s an initiative that shouldn’t be limited to your leadership team. Use employee feedback surveys to understand what’s working–and what’s not–with your company culture today. This will help you identify areas for improvement and pinpoint any diverse qualities that are lacking so you can zero in on finding them in your new hires. 

Interview Questions to Identify Culture Add

Here are some suggested interview questions to identify candidates who will contribute to and complement your company culture.  

1. How would you describe your work style?

Hiring for culture add doesn’t always mean seeking out people who do things differently than you do. Rather, it means identifying candidates who are open to doing things differently when the situation calls for it. Look for candidates who describe their work using flexible, adaptable, and collaborative words.

2. How do you define success?

Sometimes, homogenous teams can get boxed in working toward the same goals, using the same strategies they’ve always used. This can lead to complacency. A fresh perspective on success can push people to think beyond their comfort zones and break through plateaus.  

3. Describe a time when your unique background helped you solve a problem. 

This question gives candidates an opening to talk more about their personal background and how they use it as an asset. For hiring managers, it can give you a glimpse into how the candidate makes decisions and how that might look when incorporated into your team. 

4. Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone with a different perspective on approaching a task. How did you handle it?

Shifting to a ‘culture add’ mentality will come with some discomfort; that’s almost always the case when people are confronted with viewpoints that differ from their own. It is a necessary skill to work through this discomfort to arrive at practical solutions. 

5. Based on what you know about our company’s culture, values, or operations, what’s something you think we could improve?

The answers to this question can be illuminating when they come from a diverse pool of candidates. Even answers from applicants you don’t ultimately hire can be an impetus for growth.

6. What makes you different?

This is a great question because it leaves much room for interpretation. The candidate may choose to talk about their skills, upbringing, beliefs, prior achievements, personality, and more. It’s also a chance for them to highlight strengths you might not have thought to ask about. 

7. What values are important to you in an employer?

Culture add doesn’t mean finding individuals who completely depart from the people you usually hire. This would be a recipe for chaos. There are some elements on which it’s important to be aligned regardless of background or perspective. While seeking out diverse viewpoints, ensure you’re on the same page with prospective candidates about the bigger things, like your company’s mission and core values.

8. Describe your ideal work environment. 

When hiring for culture add, you want to set candidates up for success. An applicant with an awesome, nontraditional background might have a lot to offer your team, but they won’t be very happy or successful if they prefer to work outdoors and your work is done strictly in an office. Asking about candidates’ preferred work environment will help you gauge their ability to thrive in the role. 

9. How do you handle conflict?

Unique perspectives mean that sometimes coworkers clash. It’s one of the challenges of hiring for culture. Identifying candidates who are armed with healthy conflict resolution skills will ensure your team is able to overcome its differences and work together effectively.  

By shifting your focus from culture fit to culture add, you’ll be less susceptible to the downsides of having a homogenous team and enjoy the many benefits that stem from greater diversity.

So what exactly is it that sets these companies apart? If we look at them individually, they’re quite different in terms of their characteristics and the work they do. Yet each of them could be described as an employer of choice—a term for companies that can hire and retain superior talent through a fantastic culture, attractive benefits, and a reputation for high levels of employee satisfaction. 

Here, we’re taking a closer look at this unicorn-like category of organizations: what is an employer of choice, how does being one benefit you, and how can you become one to enjoy unmatched access to the best talent available?

What is an Employer of Choice?

Simply put, an employer of choice is a company that candidates, by and large, want to work for. Some of the defining characteristics of employers of choice are strong leadership, competitive pay, engaged workers, meaningful work, and attractive company culture. 

There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for becoming an employer of choice. One company’s approach may look very different from another’s, and yet they can both meet the criteria for the distinction. The overarching theme of becoming an employer of choice is being the best employer you can be for the types of employees you want to attract and retain. 

Characteristics of an Employer of Choice

Growth opportunities

Companies that offer plenty of growth opportunities will have an easier time attracting ambitious candidates. Knowing that the organization has the potential to grow can motivate and inspire employees. Candidates are more likely to choose a company where they can stay longer and grow within the organization while learning new skills and furthering their development. 

Job security

Employees want to know that a company is financially stable. If there are news stories or rumblings about financial troubles, it might impact job security for current employees and make future candidates less likely to apply. 

Appreciation

An employer of choice has a great reputation; a big part is employee satisfaction. Recognition is the easiest and most effective way for a company to boost employees’ happiness. Having a good system set up to encourage consistent employee appreciation is a characteristic of an employer of choice.

Related: Unique Employee Recognition Ideas

Meaningful work

Another characteristic of an employer of choice is providing meaningful work opportunities for everyone. Routines are great, but people want to continue learning and trying new things. In addition to job growth, there should be opportunities to rotate jobs, assign cross-functional tasks, or shadow other people to learn more. 

Work-life balance

Many studies have shown that employees who feel refreshed are the most productive. Companies that emphasize work-life balance will be able to attract more candidates. People are searching for more flexibility and autonomy. Offer the balance for employees, and you’ll see a boost in productivity and longevity.

Related: Innovative Ideas to Promote Work-Life Balance

Positive relationships

Company culture greatly impacts the employees and potential candidates for job openings. People who can connect with their coworkers and have strong relationships will be better at their jobs and more likely to enjoy coming to work every day. This includes having strong leaders that set examples.

Fairness

There must be no reports of anyone being treated unfairly at the company. There should be clear and strong guidelines and equal treatment of all employees. This will help protect your company, teams, and prospective employees.

Access to information and empowerment

Transparency is something employers of choice have in common. Ensure your employees feel empowered in their roles and have the information they need to make good decisions. If there is open communication and access to information, your teams will feel more engaged and see the company’s commitment to them.

Community involvement

Reputation is important for companies. One way to boost your reputation is to become more active in the community. Organize volunteer opportunities, do community outreach, or work with community leaders to find ways to help. Engage your employees in the decision-making and set up a committee to help coordinate activities.

Have fun!

People spend at least 40 hours a week at work, so some of it should be enjoyable. Find small ways to have fun at the office. Activities can boost employee engagement and help them get to know their coworkers simultaneously. 

Benefits of Being an Employer of Choice

Being an employer of choice comes with many benefits, most of which pertain to hiring and retention. Here are some of the biggest arguments for becoming an employer of choice. 

Higher retention 

Workers at employer-of-choice organizations are engaged in their jobs and feel invested in the company’s success, which breeds loyalty. That sense of loyalty and connection to their employer means they’re less likely to jump ship than someone who’s disengaged with their work.

Related: Highly Effective Strategies for Employee Retention

Ability to compete on factors other than salary 

Glassdoor’s Informed Candidate Survey found that budget constraints and difficulty competing with other firms’ compensation packages were two of the biggest challenges companies faced when recruiting the right talent. Although offering competitive salaries is an important characteristic of employers of choice, strengthening your company in other areas (which we’ll discuss briefly) can help you recruit strong talent even when you can’t match your competitors on pay.  

Ease of hiring 

That same Glassdoor survey also found that 76% of hiring decision-makers have trouble connecting with and hiring passive job seekers, who are known for being some of the most attractive candidates. When you’re an employer of choice, you don’t have to spend as much time or money-making inroads with great candidates. People already know your company as a great place to get hired, so your reputation does much of the recruiting work for you. 

How to Become an Employer of Choice

Pay workers fairly

Competitive salaries are one of the most useful and direct tools for attracting top talent. When you pay your workers fairly, they feel more valued, trust the organization, and are more engaged with their jobs. It’s a simple but important step to becoming an employer of choice. 

It’s important to note that there’s a distinction between “high” and “fair” regarding salaries. In a PayScale study of more than half a million workers, employee satisfaction was more influenced by the worker’s perception that they were paid fairly rather than the actual amount of their compensation. The perception of fair pay comes down to two main factors: being paid a wage that’s on par with the market rate for the work being done and a wage that’s comparable to what other workers at a similar level are being paid in the organization. 

The basics are a must – health insurance, retirement, paid time off, and sick leave. Other things are quickly becoming musts – flexible work, family leave.

Related: Hiring & Salary Guide

Respect and empower employees

Employers of choice foster workplaces where employees are given clear direction on what’s expected of them and feel confident in their ability to make decisions to meet those expectations. Employees are treated equally regardless of their job title or level of seniority, without the perception that anyone is given preferential treatment. 

You can foster a culture of empowerment by awarding recognition where it’s deserved and giving clear and constructive feedback when expectations aren’t being met.

Related: Empowerment in the Workplace: What it is and Why it Matters

Provide opportunities for growth

Investing in employee development, like training and industry conferences, helps boost retention and promote innovation. But formal programs like these aren’t the only way you can help employees grow and thrive within the company. 

Offer workers appreciate getting involved with activities that go beyond their normal scope of work, like speaking at company events, being involved in focus groups, or taking part in candidate interviews. All of these things engage workers on a different level than their primary job function, extending their connection with the company and contributing to employer-of-choice status. 

Be transparent

Now more than ever, employees crave transparency. According to the NeuroLeadership Institute³, which studies the relationship between brain science and leadership effectiveness, the brain perceives ambiguity as inherently threatening. When employees feel a sense of ambiguousness—be it about their job security, the company’s direction, or their manager’s decisions—they trust their colleagues less, feel less loyalty to the company, and are less motivated to perform. 

The solution is to create transparency by keeping employees informed. Employers of choice share information openly and frequently with employees, from the company’s financial performance to the reasoning behind organizational decisions to its long-term growth strategy. Rather than feeling like the “last to know” when it comes to workplace news, they feel like an active, engaged team member, which makes them want to stick around.  

Be a leader, not a follower

Google is often held up as a shining example of an employer of choice. One of its defining characteristics as a company is that it’s not afraid to go its way, even if that means taking a different path from everyone else. For an illustration of this, take a look at X Development⁴, the so-called “moonshot factory” of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, tasked with focusing on radical technologies that will literally change the world. 

While not all employers of choice are shooting rockets into space or solving world hunger, they all do share the common thread of fearlessly paving their own way independent of what the rest of the industry or market is focused on. 

Focus on the benefits that matter

Basic benefits like health insurance, employer-sponsored retirement, paid vacation time, and sick leave are a given to employers of choice. Other in-demand benefits like flexible work schedules and paid family leave are also becoming must-haves. 

What’s interesting to note about employers of choice is that there’s often little flash in their list of perks. While things like an onsite beer fridge or Friday afternoon ping pong tournaments are fun and trendy, they do little to build real meaning, which is a core characteristic of 

employer-of-choice brands. Instead of catering to flavor-of-the-week perks, employers of choice focus on the benefits that actually matter and bring measurable value to the employees they wish to attract. 

Give back

The most engaged employees feel a sense of connection with their organizations that goes beyond everyday job duties. In a survey of 1,000 workers⁵ on charitable giving, 37% of employees said they felt more connected to their company culture when they had an opportunity to participate in charitable events through their workplace. Fifty-seven percent said such events made for happier teams.

Employers of choice have missions that are driven by more than just profits; rather, their efforts contribute to a greater purpose that benefits the community or society as a whole. 

Partner with a Team of Experts

If you want to be the best, you have to work with the best. That includes your employees and the partners you choose to aid in your recruitment efforts. Our team has over a decade of experience helping companies build strategic, growth-minded recruiting programs that produce a consistent pipeline of the best talent.

Whether you’re a small business looking to hire for one or two key positions or an enterprise-level organization needing a hiring strategy to see you through a rapid growth phase, we can help you hire the skilled, dependable workers you need to achieve your goals.

Schedule your free consultation today to learn more about what a professional recruiting partner can do for your organization.

FAQs

We’ll explain what makes a good work culture, share some examples of companies that got it right, and show you how to build and maintain a positive culture within your own organization.

Characteristics of a Positive Work Culture

Employee wellbeing 

In companies with a positive culture, employees’ health and engagement are an organizational objective. Leaders consider it when making decisions and actively create programs designed to promote it. 

Top-down support

Good workplace culture doesn’t just magically happen on its own. It’s developed over time with strategic initiatives and systems that keep those initiatives running, like support from HR and monetary investments. It’s not just a feel-good line in a company’s boilerplate but part of its operations. 

Related: Strategies for Supporting Employees in the Workplace

Transparency

Transparency is an environment of open communication between company leaders and employees. Expectations, feedback, setbacks, and even salaries are shared purposefully, which builds a sense of trust rather than creating a veil of secrecy. Employees feel more confident in company decisions when they don’t have to guess at the motivation behind them. 

Greater meaning

One of the most difficult aspects of culture to build, but also one of the most important, is a feeling of meaning in the work beyond the bottom line. When employees are invested in the company’s mission or share the organization’s values, they’re more likely to feel connected with their work and their colleagues than if they’re showing up to get paid and go home. 

Effects of a Positive Culture

Recruitment

Top candidates want to work somewhere they feel they belong and are valued. Attracting new candidates becomes infinitely easier when you have an established reputation for being an excellent place to work. 

Related: What Is Culture Add and How to Hire for It

Retention

Good employees stick around longer when strongly connecting with their company’s culture. A positive work environment fosters higher employee satisfaction and a greater sense of loyalty, both of which contribute to higher retention.

Related: 10 Ways To Improve Your Employee Relations

Motivation

Employees of companies with a positive work culture are more productive. When employees feel their contributions are valued, they’re more likely to go the extra mile to hit performance targets and achieve KPIs and stretch goals. This translates to higher profits for the company. 

Collaboration

Teams with a strong culture have a shared sense of purpose. Teamwork is easier when everyone feels they’re working toward the same goal. There’s more communication, greater innovation, and less internal conflict.

Related: How to Improve Collaboration in The Workplace

Examples of Companies That Got It Right With Culture

Trader Joe’s

The grocery chain may have a nationwide presence, but team members say it feels like working at a small business. This company puts its employees first and puts its money where its mouth is, offering full- and part-time employees access to benefits like paid time off, health insurance, and a company-funded retirement plan. 100% of the retailer’s store managers are promoted from within, demonstrating an impressive level of employee loyalty. 

Cisco

The IT giant took the top spot on Fortune’s 2022 list of the best workplaces, with 96% of employees saying they love working there. That compares with just 57% at an average company. Employees cite honest, ethical management, flexibility, and inclusiveness because they think their company is a great place to work. 

Hilton

The hotel chain has been around for more than 100 years, and it’s put that time to good use infusing the brand’s mission and values into the staff’s daily work experience. Hilton has made a name for itself as a top employer by treating employees like the guests they serve, with drop-ins from top executives, company-sponsored leadership development programs, and fun perks like onsite food truck visits during busy holiday periods. 

How to Develop a Positive Work Culture

1. Establish core values

To build a positive work culture, you need values to construct it around. Whether these are the principles your company was founded on or new ideas you want to embody, establish a set of values and then live by them. This makes it easy to make company decisions–does your plan align with your core values or not?

2. Incorporate those values into recruiting

In addition to using your values to guide company decisions and policies, they should be infused into your hiring process. Use them as one of your criteria when evaluating candidates and incorporate them into your new hire onboarding. This is especially important when hiring and training people in leadership roles, as culture doesn’t grow upward from employees. Rather, it must be lived by leaders so it can trickle down. 

Related: Reasons Why Culture Fit Is Important for Your Hiring Strategy

3. Provide fair compensation

Competitive salaries and benefits are just one part of the equation regarding fair compensation. This also means paying employees equitably within the company, ensuring equal pay for equal work regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or other status. 

Related: Search National Average Salary Data

4. Promote inclusion

Great employers recognize that uniqueness is a strength. Thus, they hire for diversity and prioritize bringing people of different backgrounds and walks of life into the fold. Different perspectives inspire new ways of thinking, which leads to greater innovation and a stronger sense of belonging among team members. 

Related: Hiring for Diversity: Understanding Why It Matters and How to Do It

5. Foster creativity

A positive work culture is one where new ideas are welcomed, not discouraged. Employees should feel comfortable offering suggestions regardless of their seniority level and should be given the means to do so in both a group setting and one-on-one with bosses. 

6. Be flexible

In the age of remote work and nontraditional scheduling, flexibility has an outsized impact on company culture. Give employees the ability to take time off when needed easily. They shouldn’t need to get permission for short, routine absences like a dentist appointment. 

Much of this comes down to transparency between employees and managers. When there’s a strong level of mutual trust, employees are empowered to get their work done without their boss monitoring every minute they spend on the clock. 

Related: The Importance of Flexibility in the Workplace

7. Have fun

Though this element of culture may play a secondary role to more practical ones like pay and inclusion, the ability to have fun at work shouldn’t be overlooked. Foster meaningful work relationships by allowing employees to connect outside of their job-related responsibilities, like via team-building activities and social outings.

How to Maintain a Strong Workplace Culture

Maintaining a positive work culture is an ongoing endeavor. It’s an effort that should be continuously evolving, much like your culture itself. Here are a few ideas to keep your healthy culture going strong.

Collect feedback (and use it!)

You can’t give employees an excellent experience without asking for and acting on their feedback. Use tools like employee surveys to gather input regularly, then, actually incorporate that input into company decisions and programs.

Related: How to Measure Employee Satisfaction

Invest in development

We’ve talked a lot about making employees feel valued. One way to do that is through ongoing employee development. Allocate funding to programs that help staffers refine existing skills and learn new ones. Promote from within, training up managers who already embody the culture you want to nurture. 

Related: Ways to Invest in Employee Development

Consider profit sharing

Profit sharing is an incentive program that can take many forms, including stock options, performance-based incentives, and bonuses. While it may not make sense for all organizations, it can greatly boost employees’ sense of ownership in the company. 

Counteract negative forces

Building a strong company culture isn’t just about encouraging the positive but also eliminating the negative. To avoid letting bad apples damage morale, move quickly when an employee’s actions necessitate disciplinary action or firing. Institute a zero-tolerance policy for offenses like sexual harassment or discrimination.

In summary, it’s wise to invest in a healthy work culture. Over time, it can pay dividends in the form of easier recruiting, stronger retention, higher performance and happier workers. 

4 Corner Resources (4CR) is delighted to announce the arrival of Ricky Baez as Director of People and Culture. Ricky joins 4CR with more than 20 years of experience in Human Resources. He will be responsible for the overall people strategy and will both impact and influence the culture of the organization while supporting a rapidly growing hybrid team based both nationally and at the company HQ in Orlando.

Ricky is a highly accomplished addition to the team with extensive knowledge in HR, talent management, leadership coaching, strategy, and more. He is recognized nationally by HR leaders and professionals as the co-host of the HR Talk Podcast. In addition to this, Ricky is also the co-owner of the Orlando chapter of Disrupt HR, a forward-thinking, dynamic information exchange that is designed to inform, empower, and energize people who work in HR. With experience working for Sears Holdings Corporation, the Orange County Government, and several notable educational institutions, including South University and Rollins College, Ricky’s skills, experience, and perspective are set to collectively benefit the whole team at 4CR.

“I am truly excited about working with the team at 4CR. I do HR a little differently than most, with a focus on the ‘H’ in ‘HR,’ and a down to earth, common-sense approach that helps create a highly functional, fun, and vibrant learning environment where everyone has the opportunity to flourish.” – Ricky Baez

Ricky is the latest addition to a rapidly growing team at a nationally acclaimed staffing firm, 4 Corner Resources. Emerging from the pandemic, the company has experienced exponential growth this year, with new hires made in operations, sales, account management, marketing, and HR. The business is on target to achieve record growth in 2021.

As Pete Newsome, the President of 4 Corner Resources, continues to invest in people, he reveals exciting new plans for an office makeover, the introduction of a new HR policy to support new parents, with much more to come this year.

As an organization, we value the contributions of every member of the team, and this year, we are investing heavily in their personal and professional development, making sure they have the best support to truly thrive and succeed.- Pete Newsome

In part, the nature of the business contributes to such high turnover numbers. Call center employees deal with repetitive work that’s often emotionally charged; creating an environment that’s ripe for job dissatisfaction and burnout. Yet it doesn’t mean call centers simply have to accept high attrition as a fact of life. Read on to learn more about the unique staffing challenges in the customer service industry and how to combat them by building a stronger call center culture.

A Closer Look at Call Center Turnover

It’s no secret that a call center can be a high-stress work environment, but lots of jobs are stressful. So why are call center reps so much more likely to leave their jobs than staffers in other high-tension fields? To get a better grasp on call center attrition, we must look at the problem as a combination of diverse factors.

First, the work can be monotonous. Calls are meant to be completed in rapid succession and often involve answering the same questions or dealing with the same problems over and over again. The nature of call center work doesn’t readily lend itself to the engagement that top employees crave. According to a Gallup survey on employee engagement, companies with engagement numbers that fall within the bottom quartile experience 69% higher absenteeism rates, 39% more shrinkage and twice as many safety incidents as companies within the top quartile.

Unlike other repetitive jobs, such as data entry or assembly line work, call center jobs are incredibly stressful in spite of their monotony. Customers don’t typically call into a company to say how satisfied they are! Rather, they call when they’re facing a problem and are upset, frustrated or even downright angry. As a result, call center reps are often subjected to verbal abuse from callers, which creates a hostile work environment.

In addition to being emotionally taxing, the call center environment is a rigid one. In a business where every additional second spent on the phone translates to a direct cost, workers are expected to adhere to a strict set of policies designed to resolve each call as quickly and with as few resources as possible. But employees in greater numbers than ever before are resistant to such rigid work structures, with 96% of U.S. workers saying they wanted flexibility from their jobs.

Finally, in contrast to other high-stress professions like medicine or law enforcement, call center work usually goes hand in hand with low pay. According to Glassdoor data, the average call center worker in the U.S. makes $27,000 a year—barely more than what’s considered the poverty level for a family of four.

When you combine unengaging work, a stressful environment, low flexibility, and low pay, it’s not hard to see why building a strong call center culture is a challenge, but it’s one companies must tackle head-on. High turnover damages the organization from multiple angles, from the high cost associated with recruiting new workers to lost productivity to a drop in morale. If you want to combat these business detriments, turn your attention to your organizational culture.

How To Improve Organizational Culture In Your Call Center

A strong company culture is important no matter what industry you’re in. Having a positive company culture is associated with more productive employees, a better brand image and even stronger profits, not to mention that it makes it easier to attract top talent. In the call center world, though, it’s even more important for its role in helping you hold onto the talent you work so hard to recruit.

One study in particular sheds a great deal of light on the challenges and benefits of creating a better call center culture. In it, researchers interviewed and gathered data on more than 300 employees of a call center in Italy. They found that “enhancing the sense of belonging and organizational identification”—in other words, building a strong organizational culture—could result in higher motivation, greater job satisfaction and reduced turnover intentions among employees.

So how do we get there? Build a stronger company culture for your call center by following these three strategies.

Provide ample training and development opportunities 

One of the key culture pitfalls identified by the Italian study was the lack of opportunities for engagement among call center staffers. The researchers identified several opportunities to increase engagement, beginning with an employee’s first days on the job and continuing throughout their tenure with the organization.

First, we can better engage call center reps by providing thorough onboarding training. This includes not only training them for the hard duties of the job, but preparing them for the emotional aspect of it as well. Candidates should be screened from the very beginning of the hiring process to eliminate those who may struggle with the job’s emotional requirements. Further, the emotional component of employee development should be extended well beyond the training period by providing ongoing resources to help employees cope with customer aggressions and regulate their own emotional responses in a healthy way.

Employee development (link to post on employee development when published) in the traditional sense of industry conferences and seminars may not be as readily available in the customer service field as it is in others like sales. Still, companies can mimic these development opportunities—and gain the same benefits—by creating internal outlets for employees to engage with their colleagues in a group setting like team building events, educational speakers, etc.

Build culture from the top down

It’s interesting to note that the higher up the call center food chain you go, the less turnover is a problem. Supervisors exhibit turnover rates of 7% on average, while the rate for managers is just 6%. This suggests that call center staffers in a leadership role are more secure in their positions and thus, are better equipped to serve as a source of professional support for their subordinates. We can and should incorporate them in our efforts to build a stronger organizational culture by taking a top-down approach.

Don’t leave training and support programs solely to HR. Rather, engage supervisors in the technical and emotional support programs provided to employees. In addition to the resources made available to entry-level staff, programs should be established to help supervisors stay aware of the challenges their teams face and help their employees find ways to overcome them.

Ensure that the organization has a clear and distinct mission statement that supervisors are not only aware of, but able to put into practice through corresponding policies and procedures.

Give employees autonomy 

We’ve already established how the call center industry is one that necessitates a fixed set of workflows and standardized job practices. Still, that doesn’t mean supervisors need to rule with an iron fist. Though there may be little room for flexibility when it comes to things like schedules and workflows, you can build a strong company culture by giving your call center employees more autonomy in areas where they can be independent, like resolving customer problems.

Research shows that one of the biggest keys to employee happiness and wellbeing is an acute sense of autonomy in their daily operations. In a University of Birmingham study of 20,000 workers, researchers found that the more autonomy a worker experienced, the greater their level of job satisfaction.

So with things like flexible scheduling off the table, what do we mean when we talk about autonomy? In this context, it might include the ability to make decisions without having to run everything past a superior, being able to contribute ideas freely and feel like they’re being heard, and being able to hold themselves accountable for fulfilling their job duties without being micromanaged—all of which can be applied in a call center setting.

Turn to the Experts in Call Center Recruiting

If reducing turnover and attracting top talent are priorities for your organization, let the call center recruiting experts at 4 Corner Resources lend a hand. Our call center staffing skills run deep; our president’s background in enterprise telephony gives us a unique understanding of the people skills and technical know-how required to make a call center run successfully.

We have more than a decade of experience sourcing and hiring call center representatives, call center managers, inside sales reps, telecom administrators, and more. Our customer service headhunters will match your needs with candidates who bring the right combination of technical skills and personality traits to succeed in the long term. We offer hiring solutions from direct-hire headhunting to contract staffing and contract-to-hire recruiting. 

Contact us now to get on the road to better hiring and a stronger call center culture today!