Marketing recruitment is a complex process of understanding the right fit for the right company. In addition to understanding company’s specific recruitment needs, a marketing recruiter also needs to include an evaluation of a company’s culture in order to ensure a good fit.
An organizational culture is a somewhat stable set of beliefs and perceptions that the employees and leaders share. These attitudes define the behavior, and consequences of behavior, within an organization. For example, while one company may encourage their marketing department to spend the majority of their time brainstorming and collaborating, another may have a detailed list of processes to follow for a new project that are completed by individual employees. In the first company, a digital marketing professional who needed a step by step list would feel out of place and lost.
Culture makes a company more effective. It lays the groundwork for success for that particular company, within that overall industry. While each company will be different, typically companies in the same industry share a lot of the same values. Think about the difference between the culture in the non-profit industry vs. typical corporations. Having employees that understand the communication rules, motivating factors and general work ethic of a company and the overall industry will help them hit the ground running.
In addition to behaviors and methods of work, culture also includes social considerations. For example, many companies are proud of their initiatives to “go green” and want their employees to share the same perspective on the environment. Sharing these values creates a sense of team spirit throughout the company.
Recruiting around culture, in addition to technical ability, not only helps strengthen a company but can also save money.
- One study found that college students would accept 7 percent lower salaries to start in order to work for a company that had a culture that mirrored their own personal values.
- Another discovered that cultural effects resulted in over six million dollars difference in human resource costs between firms, due to employee retention from a good culture match.
This means that by including a cultural assessment and using that framework for evaluation, a marketing recruiter can often find candidates who are enthusiastic, less expensive to hire and will stay with the company for a longer period of time.
Focusing on culture is an essential for marketing recruiters. Without this key piece of the puzzle, hires are less likely to be productive, less likely to be part of the team and less likely to stay in a position long term.