Where Does Corporate Culture Fit in a Down Economy (Part 3)

We are now moving into the third part of this series. Please tell me I have kept your attention… Yes! Anyways, let’s get on with the post.

The third point was stated briefly in part 2, and that is the potential employees of your company. If you have already been able to initiate the culture change into your current employees, and throughout the rest of your business, then this should be fairly easy.

The hardest part of this part will be determining the hiring process. Some of you may have adapted the hiring processes of the people before you, which may be outdated. Others may have great hiring systems, so this will be much easier for you. Now that you have a set culture, you need to sit down with members of every part of the business and determine the hiring process.

To do this, you will need to ask what is important in your culture. What are the types of qualities, personalities, and motivations that fit your culture? From there you need to understand what are the types of tools you need to use to find the right and best candidates for your culture and company. Will it be multiple interviews or multiple interviews with role play and/or maybe even some personality/logic assessments. Or, maybe you give them some sort of creative project to submit back to you in a week. These are some examples, but there are many more.


The biggest idea of all this is that these potential candidates are interacting with your culture as they proceed through the hiring process. Remember, we said in part 2 of this series, that your culture should attract the type of talent that you would like working for your company. So, make sure that the way you are attracting your talent reflects that culture. The biggest mistake you could make is giving the candidate the wrong impression. Then, once you hire a candidate and they realize they had the wrong impression of your culture, they may become unmotivated or someone who can harm your culture. Which, we don’t want. So, remember when developing and going through your hiring process EVERYTHING SPEAKS.


One of the main reasons a culture change could be beneficial in a down economy is the amount of quality individuals in the candidate pool. For one, I am sure, to some degree your business has either cut positions, or not hired positions that you need, because you want to save resources. Therefore, you may have some opportunities that need filled. What better way to fill those opportunities than with the 10 million individuals who are out of work. There is plenty of talent in these individuals, and they may have encountered some bad luck. You should give these people the benefit of the doubt and the consideration they deserve. Maybe they didn’t fit into the culture they were currently in, and would fit perfectly with yours.


Since, you have designed your hiring process to cast the best employees you can and should have some key players in your culture. We know that your current employees will be the key decision makers and the driving force behind your culture, but these new individuals will be the lifeblood behind your company. They will be the ones most open to your culture, and will be the ones most adaptive to your culture. This means that you will have some of the most committed employees coming through your ranks. In saying that, you need to make sure that you create avenues for growth and an entrepreneurial spirit, because these employees will become the heart of your business.


On the other side of this, I want you to make sure that you don’t neglect your current employees. Each and every employee should be given the same amount of attention. No one in your company should be neglected.


I am not distinguishing on who is more important, but I am giving you ideas of ways you can grow and succeed as a business. So, remember, there are a lot of talented individuals out there, and this may be the best time to invite them into your culture and continue the change you have been making. This should provide another boost to your company and its employees.