One of the most important responsibilities of small business owners is hiring new employees. Although finding a qualified candidate with the right skill is important when hiring employees, many business owners overlook the importance of ensuring that the right candidate is a good fit for the already established work culture.
If you’re wondering how to hire an employee who fits your work culture, we’ve got you covered. In this article, you’ll learn why work culture is important and how to ensure that you find the right candidates to boost your team.
Why Work Culture Is So Important
The Great Resignation has become a global phenomenon, and Australia isn’t immune. According to The Age, one in five Australians quit their job in the last year, and research from the Australia National Bank suggests that a quarter are considering changing jobs because of burnout. These stats combined with the prevalence of remote work show a positive work culture has become more important than ever for hiring and retaining employees.
Research shows that workers want a supportive culture that consists of “respectful disagreement” while also promoting “care and kindness even in conflict.” With 27% of workers believing that value and purpose are the most important factors for workplace culture, it’s safe to say that implementing a positive culture is the best way to ensure that your employees are their most productive and thrive in the workplace.
Maintaining a positive work culture means you find a potential employee who fits well with your team every time.
How to Improve your Hiring Process
By now, you know the importance of hiring employees that fit with your work culture. If you’re still struggling with how to hire an employee, here are five ways to help you find the best candidate.
1. Establish a Comprehensive Hiring Process
When trying to figure out how to hire an employee who fits the job opening, the first step is to look at your current hiring process. Ask yourself these questions:
- How long is your hiring process?
- How many interviews do you conduct with a candidate?
- Are you following up swiftly?
Keep track of each potential candidate as they progress through the interview process, and don’t forget to follow up with them promptly. Having a clear timeline for the hiring process keeps you accountable, ensures that you stay organised, and gives your potential candidates a great impression of your company.
2. Be Clear in Your Job Posting
Your hiring process starts with your job posting. Be clear about the role you’re recruiting for, the responsibilities, and the requirements for the job. To do so, you also need a clear understanding of your expectations for the role.
Be sure you know what you’re looking for in a job candidate and list these requirements in the job posting. It’s also a good idea to highlight the hiring process in your job description for full transparency so potential candidates know what to expect.
3. Prepare for the Interview
You expect your candidates to show up to your interview prepared, and so should you. Make sure you know who you’re interviewing before the scheduled time.
Have a set of interview questions ready in advance and an idea of what answers you’re looking for. Review the candidate’s resume and pay attention to their education and experience. Note any questions you have as you may have to clarify their experience.
4. Listen to the Candidates
Many employers see job interviews as a one-sided process when it goes both ways. Just as you want to make sure that a candidate is a good fit for your work culture, they want to find out if they’re a good fit, too. Chances are that if you’re interviewing a great candidate, they are also being interviewed by other companies, and you might find yourself competing with another company with a job offer.
Leave time at the end of the interview for the candidate to ask questions about your company, your current team, and of course, your work culture, and be prepared to answer them. At the same time, don’t oversell the position or your company. Don’t stretch the truth or make any promises you can’t keep.
5. Ask Your Current Employees’ Opinions
When it comes to learning how to hire an employee who fits your work culture, who better to help you determine that than your current employees?
As a small business owner, you have the final say when hiring new employees, but if you’re trying to hire someone who will fit your work culture, your opinion isn’t the only one that matters. Your current employees will be collaborating with this new hire, and even if you have an excellent work culture now, the wrong team member can ruin it for everyone.
Consult your current employees before you begin your search for a new hire. They’ll probably have great insights into what kind of candidate you should be looking for, and they can even provide their perspective on your currency hiring process.
Better yet, get your talented employees involved with the interview process. Schedule an interview with one or more team members as part of the hiring process to see how they get along with the candidates. You can even encourage your current employees to refer people in their network, as you know that the potential new employee will already fit with at least one member of your team.
Further Reading
Figuring out how to hire an employee that fits your work culture takes time, patience, and research. If you’re still not sure how you can improve your hiring process and find the ideal candidate, check out this article on how to create an awesome work culture.
For more tips on how to hire a great employee, visit our Free HR Resources Page to find a variety of documents that can help you manage and improve your existing HR decisions and strategies.
