So, the new buzz in recruiting circles these days is “Corporate
Culture”. After all, if you listen to or
read the thousands of blogs that recruiters like me post out there day after
day…then money no longer matters…it’s all about finding a company culture that
fits you best.
Darn “Millennials” are screwing everything up.
Does culture really matter that much? I’m not saying that a good company culture
doesn’t play a part in hiring decisions…but is it really the most important
things to people these days?
Ok…let’s make the assumption that corporate culture is the
ultimate way of attracting talent to your company. If that’s the case, then 95% (or more) of the
companies out there looking to hire top talent are doing it wrong right
now. Take a look at any job board and
tell me what you see. Companies typically
list the following in a job posting:
·
Short summary of what the company does
(industry, product line, etc.)
·
Required skills, experience, and education
·
Technologies used
·
Position responsibilities
·
Location
·
Sometimes a compensation range
If culture is what attracts “Top” talent, why do companies
rarely mention anything about their corporate culture? Sure there are a few that use culture as a differentiation…. examples would include:
Zappos, South West Airlines, Apple.
But are they attracting the top talent with culture
differentiation? I can’t speak to South
West or Apple, but I have recruited for Zappos in the past, and I’ve had as
many skilled software developers turned off by their “culture” as turned on by
it. Honestly…most didn’t seem to care
much…they just asked what projects they’d be working on and how much they could
make.
So if the new “corporate culture” differentiation model is
so great, why are most companies slow to adopt it in their own job postings /
talent acquisition marketing campaigns?
My best guesses are as follows:
·
Most companies don’t have a discernible /
definable culture
·
Whomever is putting the job descriptions
together isn’t concerned with culture attracting talent
·
Companies don’t have a culture that they think
will attract top talent
·
Hiring managers really don’t care about culture
fit…they just want talent fit
Questions, Questions, Questions…..perhaps I’ll find the
answers soon.
