If you have followed the posts in our Company Culture series, we hope you have realized that an exceptional company culture is not some abstract or academic concept. Rather, it is a living, evolving environment greatly affected by the employees and managers on your team.
It is these individuals who both help create and give substance to the culture you seek. Unfortunately, "good" employees no longer cut it. It's a competitive world out there, and you need rockstars to help your culture rise to the top of the charts. Hiring the wrong people guarantees your culture will flop.
Early in any organization’s life, the relatively small number of staff makes communications and shared insights a fairly easy endeavor. However, as noted in earlier discussions, success and growth results in the hiring of additional personnel. With those new additions, the whole process of communications becomes geometrically more difficult and challenges the existing culture.
Maintaining strong communications and balance requires you to provocatively take the issues of culture into consideration when recruiting. Today, so many companies are overwhelmed by the growth process and only discover what they have done to their culture by hiring haphazardly after the fact. This is a case where the cure to culture disease is much more challenging than taking preventive steps during the hiring process.
One of the problems and limitations of a resume is they focus primarily on skills and experiences (plus, they're real easy to fill with BS.) I'll tell anyone who interviews with us, "I don't care about your resume."
Resumes also don’t provide a test of chemistry or personality. Do not underestimate the power of your people getting along. To overcome this shortcoming, here are some ideas companies with great cultures utilize. You can choose from these and others to let your team know you care about who is being allowed to join your family.
It’s fine to be exclusive and demanding, but make sure your hiring practices remain fully compliant with all local, state and federal laws. Protect yourself and your company by consulting with a reputable employment attorney or human resources firm in your area.
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Editor's note: This blog was originally published in 2015. It has been updated for freshness and accuracy.