Does Corporate Culture really matter?

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.