If you read our previous blog, we laid out the importance of why you need to be hiring for value alignment; this week, we’re sharing how to do it. Hiring people who are a fit with your company’s culture and mission will lead to better employee engagement, retention, and increased productivity. Here are three ways to hire for value alignment.

Ask the Right Questions During an Interview

Asking the right questions during an interview is a great way to start sorting out who will be a good “value-oriented” fit vs. someone who is a fit solely based on past experience. Start by asking behavioral and situational questions that will show you how candidates react in specific situations to understand how they problem-solve, work with a team, learn, and collaborate.

While not fool-proof, prior behavior is a pretty good indicator of future behavior. Learning how a candidate reacted in the past is a good way to determine if they share your values. Make sure you’re consistent in what and how you ask so you can accurately compare different candidates.

Emphasis “Fit” and Train for Skill

Values-based hiring is about identifying how a person’s core values align with those of the company. A candidate may look great on paper, have all the skills and qualifications needed to succeed at the job, but if they’re not a “value fit,” there will be issues down the line with them integrating into your organization.

Skill is something that can be trained for; being a cultural fit is something you cannot. To put it simply, you just cannot teach someone how to share your company’s core values and mission. If you go for a cultural fit over skill in your recruitment process, you will hire people who will perform a fantastic job in their role, which will help you drive growth. Hiring a cultural fit also helps retain your current employees. When a new hire seamlessly integrates into your organization, you’ll decrease the chances of losing your current top talent over a new addition who doesn’t share the same values.

Leverage Referrals

Even though studies consistently show that employee referrals improve quality-of-hire and retention rates while lowering hiring costs, they are still underutilized. Leveraging referrals is a great way to find more like-minded people to join your organization. It’s a good possibility your current employees will refer people who also line-up with your company’s mission and culture.

In fact, referrals is one of the top drivers of recruitment. Not only will your company save money by not having to advertise the open position(s), they’ll most likely have higher quality candidates coming into the pipeline.

Hiring for value alignment is a crucial piece to a successful recruitment strategy. The benefits go beyond what we’ve mentioned here, but once you start aligning your hires with your values, you can expect to see improvements in your bottom line. Hiring for value alignment begins by asking the right questions in interviews, hiring for “fit” and training for skill, and leveraging referrals.

About EG Workforce Solutions

We’ve been in this business for decades and have developed a deep network of professional connections. Whether they’re companies looking for talent, job seekers looking for work, or an up-and-coming store in need of some temporary help, we know the right people to bridge the gap between the hiring and the hired.

But what’s more, we get to know people. From employers hiring to candidates looking, we take the time to listen and learn. We hear your likes, talents, and needs. We gain an understanding, and with it, we’re able to facilitate lasting relationships between businesses and people.