Culture Club
Back in 2000. Norwich famously beat the mighty Manchester City 3-2 in a Premier League match. Thrilling stuff I’m sure you agree, but what does that have to do recruitment and talent management?
Well, this was a great example of how a team of people had brought into a clear culture and identity and (on occasion), exceeded results. They thrived knowing what that the culture was. That came principally from the leadership of the manager, Daniel Farke, now doing the same at Leeds United.
At Norwich he assembled a team at various stages of their careers and gave them the platform and confidence to succeed. Although different personalities and skills, they were blended together and exceeded expectation. They bought in to what they were trying to do.
In the workplace, with hybrid and working from home as the new normal for most people, it has become increasingly difficult to evidence a company culture.
How does a company get that culture across in 2023?
Social media plays a key part in that. We all see the posts about supporting charities, Christmas jumper day, company lunches and employee appreciation posts – all really valuable to help portray what a company is about, but what is it like to work there? Companies are also increasingly using the results of employee satisfaction surveys as a selling point for working there but does it tell us enough?
A key part of the interview process used to be visiting the office, having a tour round during working hours to see the business in action, get a feeling for the energy, even see where you would be sitting. In more recent times it has been very common for candidates to join a company having never visited the office. Maybe with remote working it is simply not important? If this is the case, the challenge for the employer is how to get the message across. Who are we? What do we stand for? Why work for us?
There will be a generation of employees who will miss out on bonding on a late Thursday night out (Thursday was the new Friday after all!) or desk beers at 5pm on a Friday or the impromptu team lunch to celebrate a success. I’m not saying that it was better back then but just that those team and culture building events need to be reimagined for today if they are going to be as valuable.
Of course, culture is not just about the social and fun aspects of a business. It is equally about the ability of the employer to ensure a safe, supportive, open and collaborative environment. It’s also about flexibility and providing the employee with all the technology and tools to do their job just as well at home as they would do in an office. Most people at home still want to feel connected and part of something.
Going back to Norwich City. Fast forward a few years and the culture has changed. They've lost their identity. The ability to attract and retain talent has diminished and performance reflects that.
A possibly clumsy analogy (shoehorning Norwich into a blog!) but one that really resonates with me in the job that I do here at Hunter Reid. A key part of what I look to do is to understand the culture of both the companies I work with, but also of the individuals that I am putting forward for jobs. There simply has to be synergy between the two.
The main question remains – “How do you evidence what defines a great company culture?” It’s really difficult to truly answer as the culture of a company is in many ways both intangible and subjective – what one person loves about it, another might loathe – that’s the beauty of being individuals.
What is clear though is that it still plays a fundamental part of any recruitment. In my experience company culture has historically been at least 50% of why a candidate is interested in a company and will accept a job there. Once they are there, it's a big reason as to why they will want to stay.