Culture in the workplace is one of those buzzwords that appears frequently in job ads, LinkedIn posts and interviews. But, what exactly is culture at work? Does it mean the diversity of the staff? Or how the company’s leadership is structured?
Neither of these fully sum up the true meaning of culture in the workplace and in this article, we’ll break it down for you. And more importantly, we’ll come at it from two key angles: how to create a work culture that attracts quality applicants and how to find the right company for you.
Culture in the Workplace
Your workplace’s culture is essential because it’s the character & personality of the organization, bringing together its values, traditions, beliefs, interactions, behaviors, and attitudes. And while this may seem like something that’s created naturally, it’s key to clearly define workplace culture at the beginning and not letting it form on its own.
Here’s what makes up workplace culture:
Leadership
Is your company led by a few head honchos that don’t even know the rest of the staff? Are decisions made without seeking the experiences and feedback of other team members? Your team’s leadership can make all the difference; a company with trustworthy and communicative leaders creates a strong work culture.
Management
How is your workplace managed? Are employees micromanaged as if they were children? Or are they given the space to meet their goals and have a personal life? The very workings of your company are key to creating a healthy workplace culture.
Workplace practices
Workplace practices in a company with a strong workplace culture have a clearly defined interview, onboarding, and review process, taking into account the needs of employees and respecting their time and efforts at all times. This can also include vacation and sick policies, benefits, and rewards and recognition.
Policies & philosophies
Further than vacation and sick day policies, good workplace culture can include flexible dress codes, remote working options, internal growth opportunities, and inclusive codes of conduct.
People
This may be the most crucial part of the workplace culture. Do the people in your company represent the values your company wants to be promoting, such as diversity, collaboration, support, and growth? Workplace culture can be implemented in the beginning as an idea, but it’s only when people put it into practice that it truly shines.
Mission, vision, and values
Your workplace’s mission, vision, and values should be clearly defined and communicated to employees. And if there’s any doubt, take time to review them and ensure they’re being implemented across the organization. Having outlined goals and objectives helps you stay true to them and check back if there’s an issue.
Work environment
Is your office conducive to working? Are there areas for breaks and lunches, or even team meetings that won’t disturb the rest of the staff? Having free snacks and coffee and ping-pong tables seems like something that’s used to compensate for other problem areas, but if they’re used correctly, they can create a positive environment at work.
Benefits of healthy workplace culture
Talent: word of mouth is key in the professional world and companies with generous benefits and strong workplace cultures will attract the best talent. And attracting talent options means that HR will have the chance to pick the candidates that best fit with the organization.
Retention: it’s obvious: companies that have happy employees will retain their talent for longer, creating team members that become both more skilled and more dedicated to their role and the organization as a whole.
Performance: happy employees are ones that perform well and create the best results.
How to Find the Right Applicants for Your Open Role
Apart from a candidate’s hard skills, trying to decide if a candidate is a right fit for the company’s culture can be a challenge. Here are some tips:
Be familiar with your company’s culture and look for signs during the interview: try to compare the candidate with current employees that best exemplify your company’s culture. Do you sense similarities? Does the candidate seem to agree with and fit within your company’s culture? Don’t be afraid to ask questions about what the candidate is looking for as well to get a better picture.
Involve the whole team: you know that two minds are better than one, right? Well, schedule an interview with different team members to see how the candidate would fit in with the team.
Determine the candidate’s aspirations: lots of times, a candidate’s goals can determine what they’re looking to get out of a job and that ties in closely with company culture. Try to get a full understanding of the candidate; that will help you make your decision.
Trust your gut: is the candidate not convincing you 100%? Is there something that makes you unsure? Trust your gut and remember that fitting with the company culture is key: the costs of onboarding, correcting work, and another interview process are not worth having to quickly dismiss an employee if they’re not the right fit.
Unsure where to start looking? At Ironhack, we’re producing the next generation of tech leaders and we know they’d be the right fit for your company. That’s why we offer a few programs where Ironhack finds the top candidates for your needs - and trains them in exactly what you need! Not sure what you need? Here’s a few programs that Ironhack offers to employers to help accelerate onboarding, create social impact programs, and launch digital transformation plans.
Ironhack’s Emerging Talent Pool
This end-to-end talent management will provide you with the top candidates for a role, a private class for up to 25 people, access to alumni networks and partnerships with top universities and organizations, 2-year planned salaries with semi-annual reviews, mentoring, training, and monitoring, low turnover and a replacement warranty, and a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion which means you’ll meet any necessary goals.
Ironhack’s Access our Graduates
In just 48 hours, receive qualified resumes; we match our graduates with your company based on their profiles and experience, in addition to co-hosting recruiting events to meet our alumni personally. You can also host speed interviewing events and publish job openings on our exclusive alumni network.
Ironhack’s Train my Employees
Looking to avoid firing expenses and reduce turnover while creating more valuable employees? This specific program trains a select group as your Innovation Committee, making them more tech savvy and data-oriented. This helps you both stay competitive with emerging market needs and increase employee retention and satisfaction.
Interested? Here’s everything you need to know.
How to Find the Right Job for You
Ready to transform your career and jump into tech but worried about the career options available to you afterwards? That’s why we created Careerhack, a three-stage course we’ve created over 5 years to help you navigate the tech job market.
Stage 0: Discover
It’s hard to meet your goals if you don’t know what they are! This stage helps you define your motivation and skills and work on your personal branding before your bootcamp even begins to help you create a clear picture of what you want to achieve.
Stage 1: Digital Foundations
During the bootcamp, you’ll meet with our career coaches to create your profile and discuss your goals. Now’s the chance to try and define exactly what you want to do and take advantage of networking opportunities to start advancing your career.
Stage 2.1: Job Hunting
This warm-up stage prepares you for the job hunting process, interviews, and more. Throughout a week, you’ll be able to attend workshops and webinars and take part in challenges that will leave you ready to jump head first into the job hunting process.
Stage 2.2: Job Hunting
It’s your time to shine! We’ll match you with prospective employers that are looking for new talent by outlining your language skills, location, culture expectations, and hard and soft skills and connect you with opportunities that are right for you. Once a week, you’ll also have one-to-one guidance meetings with our career coaches; you’ll be fully supported throughout the entire process.
At Ironhack, we’re committed to providing our students with the tools they need to be successful throughout the entire process. Want to see how Ironhack can help you grow your tech talent at scale? Check out our Enterprise services today.
