Culture is Key

I have been recruiting for around 20 years and I was recently asked what the most important factor is in making a placement stick (meaning they stay in the role for a good period of time to the point if they leave it can be on good terms all round). Whilst there are lots of factors, such as the role, the expectations, the compensation, the progression, the support etc that can feature high in most people’s list, I think high up in every single case is culture.

But why? And how can you get good insight into the culture at the company you are considering joining?

First off the why.

Culture was described by Larry Senn (named as the Father of Corporate Culture) as follows:

“Culture is not an initiative. Culture is the enabler of all initiatives.”

There have been many studies done on WHY culture is so important, but this is going to focus on the perspective of joining a new firm. Culture runs through everything that you do in a firm – from the reception you receive on the first day you turn up, to how welcome the team make you feel, to how they integrate you to the work you get involved in.

Culture runs through everything either directly or indirectly. As Larry Senn said it enables everything to happen. That makes it important. To everything.

How do you get a good insight into it? Well, that is in the interview process. An interview is a two way process. You are being interviewed by a company for a role at that company, but they are being interviewed as well. By you. To see if they are a suitable place for you to bring your skills and to see if they can be somewhere that you can trust will be a good place for the next stage of your career.

Now a lot of people will direct you online to review sites, and they are helpful, but they are not the be all and end all. In a big company for example, some parts of the business never come into contact with other parts of the business and you might be reading a review from a part of the business with a very different culture to that which you would join – so be aware of that. Don’t ignore it. But also consider who writes a review. Often it is people who are very happy, or people who are aggrieved. Making the reviews very polar and often tinted one way or another. Plus one persons happy place is another persons hell.

So, take reviews into account – the best ones are from people you know and trust, but make your own mind up armed with as much information as you can get. Information that you can get through the interview process by asking probing, thoughtful and incisive questions.

Now different aspects of a culture are in different orders of importance to different people, so think what is important to you and make sure you have questions lined up in those areas.

I have compiled some questions below to get you thinking, but this is by no means an exhaustive list and by no means covers all aspects of a companies culture. But hopefully they help. Remember – asking for an example of something is much more powerful. It makes it more real. It is also harder to fake…..

Questions to ask to find out about culture

• What was your first week like?
• What does onboarding look like?
• Can I speak to someone who was recently onboarded so I can ask about their experience.
• What do you do in the evening?
• What does work/life balance look like for you personally?
• What challenges does the company face?
• Can you give me an example of where the team has acted collaboratively?
• How does feedback work in your company?
• How does senior management directives filter down?
• How does success get acknowledged?
• Does the company do anything with charitable causes?
• Dress code
• What has changed since you started here?
• What is the companies diversity and inclusion policy(ies)?
• Remote or hybrid working arrangements.
• How much autonomy do you get at the level I am interviewing for?
• Can you give me an example of an idea that was raised that was carried out and implemented.