Do you remember Enron Corporation? Fortune once named the energy and gas giant the ‘America’s Most Innovative Company’ for at least six years in a row. With its annual revenue surpassing the $100 billion mark and 20,000 employees in 2000, Enron Corporation earned an unmatched reputation. However, a series of investigations in 2001 uncovered that the corporation was riddled with financial-related fraud perpetrated by its CFO and CEO.
The irony of this scandal isn’t that misconduct was trickling down from the executive level. Instead, Enron Corporation identified its core values as integrity, communication, excellence, and respect. Though it might be an extreme example, the company’s fall clearly demonstrates what would happen if an organization fails to uphold its core values.
The point is talking without walking the talk will hurt your organization’s ability to attract top talent, retain its current workforce, and ultimately, spell out your company’s downfall.
Why does corporate culture matter?
Every organization has a culture that defines its expectations, values, and processes. This culture is often cultivated over time and takes careful planning and considerable effort. A successful recruitment and selection process must consider culturally fit candidates for both C-suit level jobs and other key roles.
The rise of tech companies and startups has put corporate culture at the forefront of recruitment activities. Now, more companies claim to embody a bureaucracy-free, entrepreneurial, transparent, and supportive work environment that top talents are seeking.
While articulating your organization’s culture is the first step, it is far more imperative to ensure that your practices reflect your espoused core values. Corporate culture directly influences a company’s performance and its bottom line. Does your culture motivate your employees and make them feel valued? Or does bureaucracy and strict hierarchy mean executives aren’t listening to voices at different organization levels?
Well, this doesn’t mean leadership teams should listen to other employees out of the goodness of their hearts. The Garner Group emphasizes the importance of aligning your company’s core values and practices to boost employee morale and is o good for business.
How does corporate culture fit into recruitment and selection?
Once your company defines its cultural values and puts them in practice, they can start impacting how top-tier executive search firms market your company to potential talents. So, you can successfully highlight your corporate culture as a benefit of your organization. Remember, the key predictor of workplace satisfaction is not pay – it is the corporate culture.
If you are going to tout corporate culture as a key selling point, you must put forward a clear picture of your culture. Glassdoor and other similar platforms have made it impossible to hide a negative corporate culture.
Even if a candidate accepts your offer based on attraction to imaginary culture, they are likely to feel out of place once they join your team. After a couple of weeks, they will start hunting for better opportunities, leaving you with sunk hiring and training expenses.
Wrap up
The traditional interview process is no longer sufficient to select culturally fit executives. Some candidates may seem a good fit in the formal context of one-on-one interviews. However, they may exhibit qualities that prove negatively disruptive once hired. To avoid such challenges, The Garner Group recommends an interview process that incorporates multiple forms of assessments.
The Garner Group emphasizes the importance of culturally fit, top talents, and we have been offering executive search services to consumer health and nutrition companies.
Do you need help finding key talent for your team? Contact Ginni Garner, Managing Director, Consumer Health and Nutrition Practice.