Attraction and retention of talent is one of the biggest challenges that organizations face today. With people being the greatest asset that companies possess, it is important to recruit and retain professionals who can bring value to the organization and also identify with it in a way that there is a cultural fit (aligning the values, perspectives, vision, and culture of the company with those of the professional). Therefore, if the challenge in recruitment previously existed in trying to find candidates with the necessary skills and experience for a specific role, it now also includes the requirement/expectation that the candidate fits into the organization's culture.

Organizational culture is the set of values, assumptions, expectations, norms, and beliefs that characterize the organization and its members (Cameron, 2008; Cameron & Quinn, 2005). The organizational culture ultimately impacts how the business of the company is conducted, the work environment, leadership, communication, and, clearly, the development of its people. Thus, culture in organizations is essential and should be considered as a strategy of the company itself, promoting both collective and individual purpose. It is crucial for everyone to work towards the same vision and strategy for the company, as organizational culture is its reflection. It is worth mentioning that culture is not only important and impactful for employees internally but also for customers externally since it influences how certain candidates perceive the organization and whether they truly identify with its culture.

In this sense, for a successful recruitment and selection process, it is necessary to always take into account the organizational culture when interacting with potential candidates. In addition to analyzing the requirements of the position, such as responsibilities, hard skills, and soft skills, to identify the desired profile, it is crucial to understand whether the candidate also aligns with the values, practices, policies, and behaviors that characterize the company. In the selection process, the organization may not choose the most qualified candidate for the role but instead opt for the one who best fits the organizational culture, where the analysis of soft skills played a significant role in the decision-making. This decision may be directly related to the organization's strategic vision: by investing in its people, organizations seek to ensure their involvement and loyalty, aiming to retain them as essential elements and thus achieve better results for the organization (Veloso, 2007).

According to Harvard Business Review, cultural fit is the likelihood of someone reflecting and being able to adapt to the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that compose an organization. It is this alignment that enables a good atmosphere within companies, reduces turnover, improves employee performance, and enhances interaction and cohesion among teams, fostering a sense of belonging and a willingness to fully engage with the organization. If we look closely, employees and prospective employees of a particular company are the best ambassadors of its brand, as they know it better than anyone else. And an organizational culture that creates a positive image can generate opportunities to recruit and retain more talent since there will be interest in working for a company with a good reputation.

Many companies are aware of the importance of organizational culture and its impact, but when it comes to recruitment, there is still a lot of focus on the candidate's experience rather than the candidate as an individual. It is necessary to get to know them in their true essence: not only in their professional journey, where they have undoubtedly acquired some of the essential skills for the desired role, but also to understand the candidate as a person, how they have developed, how they have acquired their soft skills, and how they have further developed them. This is crucial to determine their suitability for the company's culture. For example, people who identify with more traditional organizational cultures will hardly adapt to more dynamic companies with a disruptive way of working.

In conclusion, in a recruitment process, it is essential to promote the company culture transparently, highlighting how work is done, what the team's day-to-day is like, sharing a bit of the company's history and evolution, so that the candidate can understand how they too have been shaped, adapted, and developed. If possible, providing an opportunity for a workplace visit so that the candidate can visualize and experience the atmosphere of the company (this moment could be offered, for example, to candidates who are in a more advanced or final stage of the selection process). It is also important to create space for the candidate to ask questions about the company culture so that they can assess whether there is alignment with the values, practices, policies, and overall culture of the organization. By considering organizational culture as an integral part of the recruitment and selection process, we will undoubtedly have the opportunity to hire motivated professionals who will thrive in their roles, drive their own growth and that of the organization, and become the best ambassadors for the company.

Sources:

Cameron, K. S. (2008). A process for changing organization culture. Handbook of Organization Development, 14(5), 2-18.

Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2005). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Incorporated Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2015/07/recruiting-for-cultural-fit

Veloso, A. (2007), “O Impacto da Gestão de Recursos Humanos na Performance Organizacional”, Universidade do Minho.

Por Ana Raquel Quadrado