Before Saying “Yes” to a Job, Consider Company Culture
Whether you’re entering the market for the first time or switching roles to find a more suitable work environment, you should consider what it will be like on your new team before you make the jump. This starts with understanding the organizations’ culture.
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Are you considering a new job?
Whether you’re entering the market for the first time or switching roles to find a more suitable work environment, you should consider what it will be like on your new team before you make the jump — and that starts with understanding their culture.
At work, “culture” is a word used to describe the way people behave within an organization, and the attitudes and beliefs that reflect those behaviors. It’s the way people communicate, interact, and in general, work with each other.
Leaders inform and create culture through the values, rituals, and rules they put into practice. It’s what differentiates one organization from another, and can drive or diminish factors like inclusivity, flexibility, trust, and innovation. Even more importantly, finding the right culture to work within can increase the level of purpose you find in your work and positively impact your well-being.
So, how do you find a company culture that fits your needs?
You’ll be spending the majority of your weekdays at your job, so give some thought to what kind of environment you will thrive and be happy in, as well as what kind of people you will most enjoy interacting with.
Use these questions to guide your reflection:
Consider your answers to these questions during the interview process for your new job. Keep in mind that if you ask a recruiter about culture directly, you’ll likely get a summary of the mission statement on the company’s website. To get a fuller, and more honest picture, you’ll need to be intentional and strategic with your questions.
Here are six questions you can ask your recruiter to uncover the culture in a new organization.
This last year has changed us as people — and it’s taught organizations a lot about what employees want and need to thrive. A recent study by PWC showed that people are less willing to compromise on how and where they work, as well as what they do with their time. These shifts are teaching companies that they need to create more flexibility and growth opportunities for their teams, and provide their employees with more meaningful work.
If your hiring manager isn’t able to articulate at least some of what they’ve learned from the pandemic, then they haven’t spent enough time reflecting on the experience. A vulnerable (aka strong) leader will be able to share with you what has been hard over the past year, as well as how they’ve grown from it.
My team, for example, worked out and tested different methods and frequencies for communicating and collaborating both with each other and with our clients. I’ll admit that I used to be one of the leaders who thought our work couldn’t be done as effectively from home, but now we’re redefining our profession.
“We used to place a high value on “facetime” in our offices. We thought that we needed it to effectively do our jobs. We’ve learned we can do this work fully remotely or through a hybrid environment — potentially even better, which has challenged us to think differently about our expectations for the future. Different employees have different preferences, and we’re doing our best to meet their needs.”
With the changing times, we cannot keep operating the way we used to or mimic in-person interactions virtually. Working remotely, and especially building trust remotely, requires companies to create more spaces where their teams can connect and build community.
Your hiring manager should be able to share concrete examples of steps they’ve taken to keep their employees connected — not just to their direct team members, but to important stakeholders throughout the organization. If the interviewer cites Zoom happy hours as the extent of their efforts, this is a red flag. Especially if you’ll be operating in a hybrid work environment, leaders will need to do more than schedule a short meetup to support you professionally and personally.
My team has experimented with several different strategies, including introducing skip level meetings to connect employees at all levels to senior management, running an online scavenger hunt with prizes, and developing a rotating schedule for team members to send email updates with personal and professional reflections.
“Keeping our teams connected was a top priority for us during the pandemic. We shared stories in all-staff meetings about how our work has positively affected people to remind ourselves that what we do has meaning, and we’ve made an extra effort to recognize our employees for their collective efforts. Wellness calls are also important to me as a manager. I like to check in with my team regularly, even if it’s just to offer support without a work agenda.”
You’ll want to understand how the organization recognizes and rewards team members, even in an environment where there may have been budget cuts and hiring freezes.
Recognition plays an important role in how employees feel about their jobs. In one study, researchers found that fundraising executives who received personal thanks from their manager for their efforts and contributions increased their outreach metrics by 50%. Recognition and gratitude strengthen feelings of self-confidence and motivation, which will directly affect how you feel about your job, and yourself, at the end of the day.
Ideally, you want your hiring manager to answer this question by talking about their investment in professional development, and how they say thank you in big and small ways to individual members to their teams.
For example, on my team, I created a document that all employees I manage fill out shortly after onboarding. They indicate their preferred ways to be recognized (publicly or privately), what motivates them, and even what their favorite snacks are, so we can understand our individual employees’ work styles and customize how we support them.
“To recognize our employees, we’ve invited team members to share their expertise with each other in roundtable learning sessions so we can celebrate their knowledge and get others to learn from one another. We also give weekly shoutouts to team members on our Slack channel so that no contribution goes unnoticed. Giving credit where it is due is really important here.”
Failure is a matter of when, not if. Does the organization you are applying to discuss when things don’t go well? How do they promote sharing their failures and the learning that comes from it? If there isn’t room for any mistakes at their company, consider whether you’ll feel safe to share new ideas or innovate within your role.
If you hear, “We have a ‘zero tolerance policy’ since our processes are so well-defined. People barely make mistakes,” that’s your red flag.
My team recently did a Stop/Start/Continue exercise as a group where we invited all managers to offer their perspective on what we need to stop, start, or continue doing to get ready for planned business growth next year. In the Stop section, we received feedback that one of our new initiatives hadn’t sat well with many employees, so we’ll be revising these plans to make them more effective.
“We make a point to share failures at team meetings and what we learned from them, including what we’ve done differently as a result. This help others learn, too, by hopefully preventing them from making a similar mistake and from understanding how we changed the way we do things. We don’t call people out. We just try to create a safe environment where people feel comfortable their successes as well as what they’ve learned from projects that haven’t succeeded.”
This question is broad enough not to put someone on the spot and niche enough to understand if there is psychological safety on their team. You’re looking to understand if you’ll be able to bring your honest and authentic self to work. The hiring manager may talk about what it’s like to simultaneously be a caregiver and employee in a pandemic. They may talk about the impact movements like Black Lives Matter and #MeToo have had on the business world. Or they may talk about the uncertain political state of the country. If the interviewer seems stumped by this question, this may be a sign that open dialogue isn’t encouraged in their office.
This year has stretched me as a leader — as a manager of a team of 40. Good leaders speak up, even when they don’t have all the answers, and I invite and expect team members to lead from where they are, too.
“I think the question might be, ‘What difficult conversation did we not have this year?’ We have been through a lot together as a team, as has the world, and we feel it’s important to recognize that what happens outside of work affects us at work, too.”
Diversity should not only exist as a concept in a value statement. Look for how it’s represented at the top and at the bottom of the employee chain. What kind of plans are in action?
Listen for what leaders at all levels are doing to learn more about these concepts and how they are approaching coaching their staff members. It’s ideal for the company to have concrete answers regarding any changes or efforts they’ve made, and that leaders can demonstrate that this is an ongoing process.
“We’ve been reviewing our organizational demographics and we have work to do to reflect the demographics of the clients (or community) we serve. We’ve undergone unconscious bias training for all leaders, and have more training this fall for all staff to help facilitate how to discuss these topics with our clients and each other.”
These questions are well-suited for any interview process, though they are especially relevant after the challenging times the world has been through. When you ask questions to understand team culture, listen for what’s being said — and what’s not being said. Remember, you’re interviewing the organization as much as they are interviewing you. The more you can understand about the leadership and culture before you start, the better you’ll be positioned to make a smart choice about what kind of company is right for you.
Shanna Hocking is a thought leader, keynote speaker, podcast host, and writer on leadership and career development. She is the author of One Bold Move a Day, a forthcoming book on women’s leadership (McGraw-Hill). She is principal of Hocking Leadership and serves as associate VP at a global pediatric hospital. Connect with Shanna on LinkedIn.
Before Saying “Yes” to a Job, Consider Company Culture
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