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Aligning Action and Values >>
A Culture of Commitment >>
To Eliminate Hiring Mistakes, Understand Culture >>

Aligning Action and Values

by Jim Collins

Core values are the backbone of any organization. The truly visionary companies of the past 100 years have rarely strayed from their values and when they have, they have found themselves floundering. Jim Collins (author of Good to Great and Built to Last) outlines the importance of identifying values and creating values alignment in any organization. Pay particular attention to the section titled "Identifying Core Values."

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A Culture of Commitment

by Herb Kelleher

Southwest Airlines is a classic example of a company that relies on a well-developed, well-communicated culture to boost their success. In fact, Herb Kelleher, Chairman and President, believes culture is a major reason that Southwest has become the most profitable carrier in the industry. He outlines how Southwest utilizes their unique culture to stay ahead of the competition in the dog-eat-dog world of commercial air travel.

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To Eliminate Hiring Mistakes, Understand Culture

by Mike Frommelt

Most companies understand that culture fit is important when hiring new employees. In fact, many companies take great pains to assess the cultural characteristics of potential employees, only to find themselves disappointed after making the hire. Mike Frommelt, Principal and Co-founder of KeyStone Search, suggests a probable cause for these hiring mistakes and makes some suggestions on how to remedy the situation.

Most CEOs recognize the importance of hiring and maintaining a workforce that fits their corporate culture. They know that employees who embrace an organization's culture tend to be more productive and stay employed longer than those who conflict with the culture.

Still, almost every organization has at least a handful of employees who refuse to get on board with the company program. We call them the Prima Donnas, the Empire Builders, and the Teflon Dons (because nothing ever sticks to them).

These types of employees create significant drag on productivity and profitability at any level. If one or more resides on the key leadership team, the results can be devastating.

"How did this person get hired in the first place?" the CEO asks. "We sent this candidate through four rounds of interviews, pre-employment testing, and a day-long session with an industrial psychologist. How could he (or she) fool us all?"

In my 13 years of recruiting/search industry experience, I have heard countless comments like these. Despite interviewing brilliantly, passing all tests, and getting the psychologist's stamp of approval, something just wasn't right in the person's profile, and somehow it was missed in the hiring process.

The explanations I hear most often relate to the individual's "style" or "mode of operation" or sometimes even "personality." These aren't about a mismatch in the skillset or track record required to be successful in the job. They're really about culture and what can happen when a company's culture isn't clearly understood and/or communicated by its leadership.

You may wonder, "How could a company's leaders not understand their own culture? They live it every day!" In fact, this is a common occurrence. Although everyone knows the company has a unique culture, few (if any) can accurately describe it.

Perhaps you think that your company is different. If so, I invite you to try this simple exercise. Walk up to five key employees, one at a time, and ask each one to characterize the company culture. Listen closely to what you hear. Chances are, each of your five employees will use at least some of the same words, but their overall answers will be very different. It's also highly likely that a couple of those answers will be given in a fumbling, or even confused fashion.

Now imagine a candidate being interviewed by the same five employees. Are they sending a consistent message about your company culture? Are they looking for the same signs of a good culture fit between the candidate and your company? Or do they make their recommendations by "gut feel"? In my experience, the latter is most often the case.

Even companies that utilize industrial psychologists can fall into this trap. Who gives the psychologist the cultural parameters? And are these parameters tangible, measurable, and accurate?

To avoid hiring mistakes, any growth-minded company needs to spend the time and effort to identify, assess, and communicate its unique culture. An important part of this process is identifying the core values, or principles, that drive the organization. Core values are a tangible, measurable assessment of the culture that can be used to evaluate potential employees in regards to their cultural fit.

Core values are not only for recruiting however. When core values are "institutionalized", which means identified, repeatedly communicated, and exemplified by senior management, an atmosphere of accountability ensues. Employees understand exactly what is expected to be successful beyond just their own job description. It also becomes much easier for management to spot employees that are "not with the program and take appropriate steps to correct the problem.

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