Over the years, there has been an ongoing debate about what it takes to keep employees engaged within an organization. Some companies say that when hiring, they prefer to look for employees who fit within their corporate culture.Sometimes companies search for a long time trying to find employees that will adjust to their way corporate way only to come up short. And one of the reasons it can take some companies a long time to find the right employees, is because they will insist on finding employees that conform to their culture first and foremost and everything else be damn. A year ago while watching the NFL network one of the analysts who was a former New England Patriots player, was asked why was it that the Patriots were so successful in drafting players that teams passed on or were considered “casts offs” from teams who simply could not get these players to conform. Yet, these same players, blossomed in New England. His response:
“Many people around the league assumed that these players had to conform to the “Patriot Way” when they arrived in New England. To some degree that’s true but, Bill Belichick (the coach), creates formations that takes advantage of the players’ strength which translates to a team that makes the playoffs each year. In order words, while these new players get indoctrinated into the culture of the team, the team in turn, adjusts to the strength of the players and does not solely look for players that will merely conform to the New England Patriots way of doing things above all else.”
This statement was an eye opener for many who could not understand how so many players who were not high draft picks, ended up playing so well when they landed in the town of Foxborough.
Some companies stress that “fit” is an absolute necessity. That’s all well and good, but trying to decipher whether an employee will “fit” within your corporate culture will take more than an employment testing tool. It will require someone from HR or the hiring manager to actually sit and talk to the person. And if the prospective employee sitting across from you does not appear to have all of the attributes to “fit” within your organization at first, dig a little deeper or ask them to come in for a second interview. Chances are you might be pleasantly surprised that some of the strengths within that prospective employee might actually benefit your company-and, the best part is that they will eventually be a fit. Why? Because we are social creatures and all yearn to fit in.
This article “Helping New Hires Adjust to your Company Culture” by Lindsay Traiman, contains 5 easy steps that you can use to help employees adjust to your culture.
So what’s company culture like and is it open to engaging employees?
