Developing a positive workplace culture is a hot topic on most leadership and HR agendas. 

Yet many recruitment companies still don’t have it on theirs – despite the fact, their website shouts out how they understand the importance of culture fit in the recruitment process they deliver for clients and candidates. 

It’s also very much the case now that tracking remote workers is crucial as you absolutely need to know what they are all doing.

Ironic don’t you think? 

As a recruitment professional you don’t need me to tell you we are in the midst of a skills shortage and one which is impacting how you attract talented recruiters to your organisation too. 

Then, of course, our workforce is changing.  The workplace is now dominated by Millennials and Gen Z individuals who have different expectations than you and I about what they willand won’t put up with from the company they work for. 

At a recent RecExpo where Katy was presenting, one of the speakers shared the data relating to how key culture is for employees as they make a decision to join an employer in the first place; never mind staying around to develop their career. 

A question for you: Is your culture all it could be? 

Today I want to share a few pointers that might shout out it’s time to change. 

1. Wrong Culture for The Right Market?

 

In our last post, we talked about the five key elements involved in dominating your sector, one of which was getting tight on your niche. 

So, what if your ‘new’ market requires a different approach?  

Though there is a thought that you can teach an old dog new tricks; this isn’t always true. 

What if the old dog is very happy performing her standard tricks and doesn’t want to change? 

Deciding on a culture shift and then implementing the change your billing teams will need to make related to winning over clients, working with candidates, utilising the latest marketing and social media strategies or working with a new CRM, is as critical as telling them where your company is heading.  

Your culture is an important part of the “how” you will get your recruitment company to where you want to go. This “cultural how” is about behaviours, how your team work together in potentially a new recruiting model. 

What are the values that now need to be present? How do billing teams work together? Maybe your resource star who is pulling out all the stops for the BD team wants to be included in the top performers lunch too? 

2. Be the Change: Be the Culture…. Are You? 

 

Business growth is down to you. How much you are willing to change and shift your current patterns to something different. 

Let me explain. 

In my past life – to be clear only a few short years ago – I was lucky enough to be made the captain of various Rugby teams I played with. 

Being a captain has its challenges. You have an off day… the team performs like C*&664 too! 

You’re upbeat and run every ball down and guess what your team do? The same and your energy spreads across the team. 

It’s one of those patterns which plays out in various walks of life. 

If your culture is all wrong; maybe, it’s down to you, how you are ‘being’ in work both consciously and unconsciously. 

The desired culture relates to your everyday actions and interactions. In other words, your team are watching and hanging on your every move. 

Walking the talk is a cliché, I know though it’s pivotal if you want to develop a culture for the future you want. 

In our different programmes here at Centredexcellence, one of the principles we teach is to ‘be the change’. You start changing first then watch what happens. 

3. Your Culture Isn’t Part of The System 

 

Building the culture you want takes work. Is it easy? Absolutely not. Nothing in business is ever easy. 

However, it will be a smoother process when you align and deliver it through systems. 

Create cultural objectives which are measured and are part of everything you do.  

Let’s take your own recruitment and this point is key; Your culture will be delivered through the people you recruit.  

On our RockIt programme Katy and I often sound like a stuck record. The mantra we 
share is; ‘hire the right attitude and then train the skills. 

It is so critical to hire on attitude. You can teach anyone to do anything if they are motivated enough, but you can’t teach someone to be motivated – they either have it intrinsically or not. 

Get clear on the most important values that you team MUST have hard wired into their personality and then create ways to test for this behaviour in your interview process.   

The process and criteria will now include cultural fit. You know all those assessments you encourage clients to use? How about using them in your own process too? 

Then there is the question of how you manage performance. 

Your maverick BD star potentially pulls in business, yet she is a total b_%%^^ to everyone in the team, and you let her get away with it. 

What impact do you think this has? 

Other recruiters and resourcers see what’s going on and conclude that certain behaviours are okay depending who you are or if you are best buddies with the director. 

In other words, displaying the right behaviour isn’t really that important. 

In the current disruptive business economy, if you are looking for leverage and actions that will give outstanding results, starting the culture shift you want now is our strongest recommendation. 

 

What Next? 

Developing the ‘right’ culture in an organisation will give you more momentum than you ever thought possible. It’s something you need to tackle now if you are serious about growth. 

If you would like to know about developing your culture and results, we can help. You can apply for a personal profit accelerator call with one of us here. 

Warm regards, 

Nicky and Katy 

P.S. If you found this useful, you’ll enjoy our forthcoming Recruitment Business Launchpad too. You can find all the details here.