17 Feb 2024
Hiring teams are well aware of how challenging it is to discover applicants that are strong in both technical and soft abilities. The majority of the hard skills necessary to perform the job properly should ideally be brought by a new hire. Soft talents, however, can be as vital as hard skills, if not more so, depending on the business philosophy. Hard and soft talents work together to create a highly effective team and culturally diverse environment. How then do you recognize these formidable candidates? At this point, shrewd hiring strategies can have a significant strategic impact.
Why? Every HR practitioner should strive to find and place high-performing individuals as their priority. However, if hiring managers place more emphasis on a candidate's experience than on their capacity to advance their culture or their willingness to learn, the hire may end up being a long-term mismatch. How do you prevent this? To give an example, let's take a deeper look at how Trioptus handles hiring.
Smart Recruiting: Why Should Soft Skills Be Prioritized?
Of course, a fundamental set of technical or managerial skills is required for every position. However, because a candidate's character counts in this situation, we over-index on culture and behavioral abilities. Well, not just here, but at every effective organization that puts its employees first.
Excellent skills reduce the need for on-the-job training for a candidate. However, a person who fits into a company's culture well frequently displays intangible traits that reflect the mission and values of the company. Therefore, it's a good idea to assess each candidate's likelihood of blending in with your culture and contributing to the team.
What precisely is at risk? Well, a recent SHRM survey indicates that over the previous five years, 20% of Americans quit their jobs due to unfavorable workplace culture. It is anticipated that this turnover will cost more than $223 billion.
Here are some additional findings to think about: Currently, 26% of Americans say they dread going to work every day, while 56% of Americans say they feel less than fulfilled at work. Finding the perfect applicant may be difficult in today's talent market. However, it may be argued that hiring a strong applicant who also fits your company culture is just as crucial (if not more so!) than selecting a candidate based only on their level of expertise.
How Effective Hiring Contributes to a Stronger Culture
Building and maintaining a company culture that puts people first is crucial. But how can effective hiring assist in figuring out whether a candidate is (or isn't) a good "fit"?
1. Recognize your workplace culture
Don't limit your analysis of your company's culture to intangible factors like general staff vibes. Include information on your leadership structure, fundamental goals and values, working environment, mechanisms for receiving and giving feedback, and general interpersonal communication styles. The connections on your team and the way the business invests in its employees are influenced by these and other variables. They affect both staff retention and how outsiders view your company.
A consciously crafted good workplace culture fosters employee well-being. We are all aware of how crucial culture is for working professionals at this point. From onboarding to offboarding, every employee interaction has an impact on how your organization's culture affects your employees. People, therefore, place a higher value on workplace well-being than monetary compensation or tangible perks. Therefore, every recruit should have culture at the forefront of their mind.
2. Identify the traits that correspond to your culture
Let's imagine that after you've defined your corporate culture, you want to keep it. You can pinpoint the traits of present employees who are succeeding based on your investigation. You might contrast those qualities with those of earlier workers who would have thrived in a different culture.
On the other side, you can start identifying people whose soft skills coincide with your intended organizational orientation if you'd like to improve your culture.
Say, for instance, that your whole workforce is remote. This suggests that teamwork is probably more difficult than in a conventional office setting. Candidates who show they are self-starters with a strong sense of resourcefulness, self-efficacy, and proactive ownership may be the ones you want to pay particular attention to.
Or, if diversity and inclusion are important to your company's vision and values, you might want to pay special attention to applicants who are adaptive, open-minded, and curious about how to solve problems. Consider focusing on candidates who appear resistant to change and more tolerant of people with various perspectives.
The concept of cultural alignment is, of course, nothing new. For instance, a well-known personnel study from 2005 that is still used today found that employees' job happiness and performance are stronger when their traits match the corporate culture.
3. Conduct an alignment-focused interview
It's time for interviews after you know what traits an applicant has to possess to succeed in a certain position. What are some questions you should ask to find out a candidate's soft abilities in addition to those that assess a candidate's hard talents?
Why did you want to apply for this position with our company?
Pay close attention to each candidate's answers to gauge their zeal and concentration. Did you think your benefits were particularly alluring? Was it the careers page or the company brand? Or was that the actual job description? Do the candidate's values match those of your business? Each response provides information on the person's viewpoint, goals, and hobbies. This can decide whether a candidate's values match those of your team and how you should proceed.
What would your ideal next position entail?
This might reveal a lot to a recruiter about the environment that a prospect will flourish. Do they see themselves working alone or with others? What primary duties does this person desire to possess and value most? Are they aiming to advance in people management or mentoring? This might demonstrate whether the candidate's needs are met by your current team and environment.
How would you respond if one of your coworkers disagreed with you in front of a group during a board meeting or a meeting with leadership?
Someone's capacity to listen and collaborate, think critically, and have the correct attitude can be revealed by sharing a hypothetical query about a difficult problem and asking for a suggested solution.
Describe an instance when you believed the culture of your employer didn't meet your demands. Why do you think it didn't work out for you?
Direct action is sometimes the best course of action. Pay close attention to the response to determine whether it suggests a fit with the culture you now have (or are attempting to create).
There are countless ways to frame interview questions that emphasize culture and soft skills. In any case, make sure to customize each question to your company's needs and ideals.
There are countless ways to frame interview questions that emphasize culture and soft skills. In any case, make sure to customize each question to your company's needs and ideals.
Hiring managers will be aware of the qualities that fit a position and the corporate culture as a whole. This allows you to be more inventive and maintain an authentic, human tone in interviews. Long-term, questions that are less "cookie cutter" will better support your talent strategy. In order to ensure that everyone is viewing candidates via a people-first lens, make sure that your interview teams are trained to over-index on business culture and values. Put your culture up and center, whether you're giving a pre-screening interview or participating in a group interview for the final round.
For more customized talent solutions consulting, reach out to TriOptus at info@trioptus.com or call us at +1 240 799 1040.
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