One of the most important things you look for when you’re hiring a new employee is if the candidate will be a good fit for your organization. Alignment with company culture is just as important as qualifications and skills for potential candidates. But are you articulating your company culture to your candidates and what a “best fit” candidate looks like in your job postings? Read on, to get hiring help to smooth your hiring process so that potential candidates are always aware of what your company’s needs are.
What Kind of Barriers Exist in the Hiring Process?
One of the biggest barriers that exist for job seekers within the hiring process is that they do not understand or aren’t aware of the workplace culture. Unfortunately, this barrier can inadvertently disproportionately target newcomers to Canada. Here’s how:
We all know that Canada is a welcoming home to people from many different cultures, it’s part of what makes our country so great. And, we all know that different cultures have different ways of dressing, eat different foods, speak different languages but one of the things we don’t often think about is that different cultures approach jobs and work differently. For example, in Canada we don’t often bring up questions about a candidate’s family in a job interview. But in a lot of cultures, family might be one of the only topics that gets discussed. Or, in Canada we often feel that having work experience within the Canadian labour force is an important component of an employee’s qualifications. If a candidate is a newcomer to Canada who is qualified for a position but has no experience within the Canadian labour force, that might disqualify them from the position.
Articulate Workplace Culture in Your Hiring Process
Take a look at your organization and do an audit of your own workplace norms. Chances are a lot of your workplace’s culture reflects the country and region you live in but that there will be cultural norms that are specific to your workplace. Once you understand and identify your own workplace culture it becomes easier to articulate it to your candidates.
Include company culture and expectations in your job postings. For example, you might highlight a growth mindset, an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. You might describe your policies on summer Fridays, working from home, dresscode, perks and benefits like napping pods or free lunches. It’s also important to communicate expectations about what will be discussed during the interview process.
Basically, hiring help all comes down to communication. We often take our workplace culture for granted because we work in it every day. By keeping in mind that not everyone will be familiar with our practices, we make it easier to find the right, most qualified candidates.
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