How do you align talent acquisition with your culture and values?

1 Define your culture and values

Before you start looking for candidates, it's essential to have a clear and consistent understanding of your culture and values. Culture is the shared beliefs, behaviors, and norms that define how your organization operates, while values are the principles and standards that guide decisions and actions. Ask yourself and your team questions such as what is the mission and vision, what are goals and priorities, how do you interact with each other and stakeholders, what are expectations and responsibilities of each role and function, how do you reward and recognize performance and contribution, how do you handle feedback and conflict, how do you cope with change and uncertainty, what are non-negotiables and deal-breakers? You can also use surveys, focus groups, interviews or assessments to get feedback from employees and leaders. Once you have defined your culture and values, it's important to communicate them clearly and consistently to current/potential employees, partners, and customers.

2 Incorporate your culture and values into your employer brand

Your employer brand is the reputation and image that you have as an employer in the market. It reflects how you position yourself as a desirable place to work, and how you differentiate yourself from your competitors, so it's important that your employer brand aligns with your culture and values. To do this, create a compelling and authentic employer value proposition (EVP) that highlights the benefits and opportunities you offer to your employees, as well as the expectations and challenges they face. Additionally, develop a consistent and engaging employer branding strategy that covers both online and offline channels. Showcase your culture and values through stories, testimonials, videos, or photos featuring your employees, leaders, customers, or projects. Finally, encourage your employees to be your brand ambassadors and advocates by sharing their experiences and feedback with their networks and communities.

3 Embed your culture and values into your hiring process

Your hiring process is the first impression you make on your candidates, and can influence their decision to accept or reject your offer. To ensure your hiring process reflects your culture and values, assess and select candidates based on their fit and alignment with them. You can embed culture and values into your hiring process by writing job descriptions that highlight the skills, competencies, and behaviours you are looking for, as well as the culture and values expected from candidates. Additionally, design a structured and transparent hiring process that outlines steps, timelines, and criteria used to evaluate and hire candidates. It should also provide regular feedback and updates. Furthermore, use a variety of assessment methods and tools to measure technical/functional abilities of candidates, as well as their cultural/values fit. This could include interviews, tests, simulations or case studies. Involve employees and leaders in the hiring process, allowing them to interact with candidates as interviewers, mentors or buddies. Lastly, provide a positive candidate experience that showcases your culture/values and makes them feel respected and excited.

4 Align your onboarding and retention strategies with your culture and values

Hiring the right people is only the first step in aligning talent acquisition with your culture and values. You must also onboard and retain them effectively, and help them integrate and thrive in your organization. To do this, create a comprehensive and customized onboarding plan that covers pre-boarding, orientation, training, and integration. Reinforce your culture and values throughout the process, provide regular feedback, recognition, and development opportunities to your employees, and foster a culture of engagement, collaboration, and innovation. Additionally, monitor the impact of your talent acquisition efforts on your culture and values as well as business outcomes like turnover, retention, performance, or satisfaction. Aligning talent acquisition with your culture and values is an ongoing process that requires commitment from all stakeholders; doing so will build a strong and sustainable talent pipeline that drives success and growth.