The Role of Culture in Recruiting

Having a well-defined corporate culture, i.e., having a good story to tell, is by far the best way to help  you recruit and retain the people who can help your company achieve the success you are seeking.

Whenever I initiate a new  executive search, the first thing I always do is talk to several of the executives and managers get them to tell me their story by  asking them questions about their company:

• Are you a learning organization? 
• Are your contributions valued? 
• Do you value teamwork? 
• What’s it like to work here? Do you like it?
• Are you proud to tell others who you work for? 
• What do your associates think about working here? Are they psyched, engaged, excited by the challenges?
• Do you have a system in place to evaluate new ideas from the people working “in the trenches”? 
• What is your company’s reputation is in the marketplace? For collaboration? For innovation? For being productive? 
• What “excites” you the most about coming to work?

And I get them to tell me the story of their company.

In my role as an executive recruiter, it’s very important to have a good story to tell. After all, the most sought-after candidates, the ones that every company is looking for, can afford to be choosy.

And if your company’s culture has room for improvement, or you don’t have a good story to tell, it makes it more of a challenge.

Unless the candidate we’re seeking is going to have a direct hand in improving the culture, they’re less likely to want to come work for you, or you’ll end up having to pay a premium to attract them.

So a less-than-desirable corporate culture is self-perpetuating.  You are unable to attract the people who can help you the most.

Fortunately, if you have a culture that’s broken, or needs help fixing, there are things you can do. And that’s an area where my company has some expertise.

I am glad to be working at Dise & Company where we are inspired by our leader, and encouraged to continually improve the way we do things, and the way we work together.

We have a learning organization, where I am treated with dignity and respect.

Even though we practice different disciplines of Human Resource Consulting (Corporate Outplacement, Executive Search, and Leadership Coaching), we work not in silos, but as a team.

We’re encouraged to engage in professional development, so I feel like I’m always learning something new, and continually improving.

The most exciting aspect of my work is to present opportunities to people –both employers and employees— that they never considered before, and to effect meaningful change that positively impacts the lives of so many.

And I find that personally and professionally rewarding—that’s what we do, that’s what I do—we make a difference.

That’s my story. What’s yours?

Susan Paley Zak is the Director of Executive Recruiting at Dise & Company. You can contact Susan directly at the People Page on Diseco.com.