August 30, 2011

Company Culture

Company Culture and Recruiting

Company culture, also called organizational or corporate culture, is the sum of the business values, routines, work environment, management structure, branding, symbols and objectives of a company. Corporate culture can be easily summed up by the phrase “how we do things around here,” and it can be a very important thing for recruiters to understand. The organizational culture of a company informs everything from the types of candidates that are a good fit to the onboarding processes of a company. Recruiters need to understand company culture so that they can better carry out their client’s objectives and better prepare their candidates for working in the company. Here are some of the elements of corporate culture and the ways that they affect recruiting strategies.

Paradigms and Understanding the Client

The paradigm is the overall value system of the company: the mission and values that inform everything the company does. The company culture paradigm impacts the way that a recruiter works with management and interacts with human resources. A good grasp of a company’s paradigm can also help the recruiter find a candidate who has similar values and career goals. The paradigm can also help a recruiter with branding and marketing the employer.

Corporate Culture and Marketing

Company culture is a major part of an employer’s brand, or the picture of the company as a great place to work. Recruiters market an employer’s brand to applicants, and they use the corporate culture in their marketing efforts. Elements of corporate culture like the symbols that represent the company and the paradigm will inform a company’s employer brand. Recruiters can use company logos, but they can also communicate the values of a company in their marketing materials.

Organizational Structures and Candidates

A thorough understanding of a company’s organizational structures and control systems, two important elements of company culture, will help a recruiter prepare candidates for employment with the company. The control systems and organizational structures are the part of corporate culture that governs how work flows within the company. Understanding how management is structured will let a recruiter know where the open position fits within the company, and then they can better explain this to the candidate.

Routines and Onboarding

All companies have rituals and routines that they use in daily operations, like clapping during staff meetings or casual Fridays. When recruiters have a good grasp of the unique rituals within a company, they can communicate them to the candidate and make the onboarding process much smoother. If a candidate responds enthusiastically when the recruiter tells them about the rituals, the recruiter knows they have a good match for the company culture.

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