Will the candidate fit my company culture?
Lou Adler has written an article about asking one critical interview question and then delving deeper from this single question.
This question and article is an excellent one and is well worth using but as always you need a box of tools available to you when interviewing potential employees. This question will answer your question about experience and achievement but in order to understand if this person will fit into your company culture you first you need to understand what the culture at your company is.
How do you do this?
If you don't have time for a formal assessment, here are some questions you could ask yourself and your employees.
Mission and Purpose
Is there a clear vision of where the company is headed that is shared and understood by all employees and customers?
Communication Styles
What styles are used by everyone for both internal and external communications? Are they assertive/ aggressive or cordial and sympathetic? How easy is it for outsiders/ newcomers to be integrated into the company?
Control Systems
What "control" mechanisms are used within the the company? Are they tight (formal rules with no leeway) or loose? To what extent does technology used influence the control systems?
Strategies for coping with external influences
Are you flexible and adaptable when dealing with customers and suppliers or is your approach more rigid? To what extent is it possible for employees to change and manage the customer or supplier in order to meet or exceed the goals and objectives. Maybe a better way of looking at this is, can your employees "master" the detailed processes you may have in place or do your employees simply go for the easy option of adhering to the way things are done?
Individualism or collectivism
What is the relative importance of individual accomplishment or autonomy versus group dependent accomplishment within the company? This can be measured by looking to see how important team and group activities are in the structure and processes, how rewards are allocated to members for their actions and the extent to which people work well together and help each other with difficulties. NB. This could vary dependant on the role you are looking to fill!
Even these questions can seem daunting so another way of looking into culture is:
Ask your employee's and customers some questions around "personal culture", does your company feel like a family or not?.
Is your culture a competitive and achievement based culture, or is it entrepreneurial and takes risks?
Is your culture controlled and structured and does it truly reward and recognise employees who would do anything to achieve customer excellence.
Once you have a broad understanding of your own culture, you will then be in a better position to understand if this person with the relevant experience and achievements will excel in your environment.
Visit oZZle now to understand how we can help you attract the best people to your vacancies! Click here!
This question and article is an excellent one and is well worth using but as always you need a box of tools available to you when interviewing potential employees. This question will answer your question about experience and achievement but in order to understand if this person will fit into your company culture you first you need to understand what the culture at your company is.
How do you do this?
If you don't have time for a formal assessment, here are some questions you could ask yourself and your employees.
Mission and Purpose
Is there a clear vision of where the company is headed that is shared and understood by all employees and customers?
Communication Styles
What styles are used by everyone for both internal and external communications? Are they assertive/ aggressive or cordial and sympathetic? How easy is it for outsiders/ newcomers to be integrated into the company?
Control Systems
What "control" mechanisms are used within the the company? Are they tight (formal rules with no leeway) or loose? To what extent does technology used influence the control systems?
Strategies for coping with external influences
Are you flexible and adaptable when dealing with customers and suppliers or is your approach more rigid? To what extent is it possible for employees to change and manage the customer or supplier in order to meet or exceed the goals and objectives. Maybe a better way of looking at this is, can your employees "master" the detailed processes you may have in place or do your employees simply go for the easy option of adhering to the way things are done?
Individualism or collectivism
What is the relative importance of individual accomplishment or autonomy versus group dependent accomplishment within the company? This can be measured by looking to see how important team and group activities are in the structure and processes, how rewards are allocated to members for their actions and the extent to which people work well together and help each other with difficulties. NB. This could vary dependant on the role you are looking to fill!
Even these questions can seem daunting so another way of looking into culture is:
Ask your employee's and customers some questions around "personal culture", does your company feel like a family or not?.
Is your culture a competitive and achievement based culture, or is it entrepreneurial and takes risks?
Is your culture controlled and structured and does it truly reward and recognise employees who would do anything to achieve customer excellence.
Once you have a broad understanding of your own culture, you will then be in a better position to understand if this person with the relevant experience and achievements will excel in your environment.
Visit oZZle now to understand how we can help you attract the best people to your vacancies! Click here!
posted by Heidi Whitelock @ 10:35
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