The Hiring Dilemma: Culture vs Talent

%%sitename%% %%sep%%Genuine employees go the extra mile because they really care about your company’s purpose. That is what you want right?

Hiring a new employee is a skill that involves a lot of tact. It’s really an art form. In essence, you are bringing someone into your organization to provide something of value or fulfill a need. Obviously, most hiring managers go for talent that has the experience to back it up. This method does not always take in the big picture.

Hiring an employee based off experience alone will not necessarily garner the best outcome. It is the Brightwing belief that the people you hire have to also come with one essential thing; the ability to uphold your core values by having a genuine interest in the work and to get along with the people that they interact with on a daily basis. Is your company using this idea to the fullest?

Let’s take a closer look to explain what we mean. Say you are in the business of hiring cartoon characters for a cold calling position. Your first potential hire is a spunky cat with little experience in the industry, but a chipper personality and desire to learn. He seems to have almost all of the values that your company does, but his experience in the line of work is from a different position. You decide you want to wait for someone with more experience. Your next potential hire is a tall, gray rabbit with a carrot in his mouth. He seems pretty personable, greeting you with a “What’s up doc?” His resume is also very promising. He gets the position based on past experience alone.

The new employee comes to work the next day, eyes bloodshot from too many carrots the previous night. He sits down and dials up his first cold call. The first core value of your company is taking the time to build a relationship with those you call, but this employee is very apathetic to his candidates. In the cubicle next to him is your best employee; a short man with a speech impediment, a hunting suit, and a rifle. Obviously things are going to go sour at this point. Suddenly, the new employee’s experience means nothing because he is running for his life. Your best employee is also rendered useless because he is too busy trying to kill your new one. What does this mean? The workplace is shot along with your client base because your employees cannot get along with each other, let alone spend the time to create a relationship with your patrons.

The new employee’s resume looked amazing, but he was actually not a good fit for your company because he didn’t share the same core values. He was also not able to work with other employees in the building. For this reason, it is important to always ask the right questions in the interview process so that you have a good idea of the person’s fit within the company. In this case, the first potential was probably the better choice. He seemed to care more about the job and have the core values that would have helped him fit within the company. Obviously, finding a mix between both candidates can happen too and is the desired outcome, but it does not always happen. Most hiring managers never even consider these ideas when screening potential employees.

The hiring process has to be about more than what’s on paper. You need people who can do their task well, but be devoted to it and the relationships with those around them in the process. Genuine employees go the extra mile because they really care about your company’s purpose. That is what you want right?