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When companies put the time and energy into designing a unique and wow-worthy set of values, a common pitfall is not making those values a part of the business’ recruiting process. It’s important to make core values a part of the hiring strategy, but how can you do it in a way that attracts the best and right talent? Learn how you can use your values to hook in the best candidates for your next job opening:
At the start of your recruiting process [probably during the screening phase], make sure you give them your core values to look at and then ask these two questions:
#1 Which of our core values are your favorite?
#2 Are you aligned with all of these values?
Question #1 is your opportunity to see if the candidate took the time to review the values you sent over to them and to learn which one they love the most. At this point, they might share some personal anecdotes and reasons why one value is more meaningful to them than the rest. If this is happening in a conversation setting, go ahead and share which one is your favorite too!
Question #2 helps you to understand which values your potential new hires might have trouble with [if there is any conflict]. Ideally, you would want someone who is aligned with all of your values. They don’t, however, have to live them all out equally as long as they are in support of them. After all, some people may later thrive in a value that they weren’t aware of!
For instance, when I first joined DH, I was personally trying to work on CV #7 [build community and meaningful relationships] in my own life. In my time with DH, I’ve been able to stretch and grow within that core value and was even recognized for it by my peers. Now I’d say I’m pretty good at it [I’m always leaving room for improvement].
Don’t just show your core values, share how you live them
One of our favorite examples of sharing your values is from our client National Business Capital & Services. After workshops with Delivering Happiness, the organization implemented the practice of giving out ‘WOW’ cards. Each card has a company value on it, and employees give these cards to one another when they are exemplifying a specific amount. Wouldn’t it be a cool experience to have your candidates see this in-action? Better yet, invite them to a holiday or special event (like Easter at the office, pic below) to see what the culture is like in-person!
Click here to watch how National's culture transformed after the workshops!
At Northwell Health, many of the leads and managers practice story-telling with their teams. At huddles or team meetings, employees share meaningful patient stories that exemplify the organization’s core values [care, awareness, respect, empathy]. From the HR personnel to nursing staff - these stories reconnect values into the work their doing every day. If you had a potential new hire listen to these types of customer stories, it could help bridge the impact that values will have on their future role.
Now that your potential talent has been able to learn about your core values and see them in action, it’s a good time to reaffirm their alignment and support. Because your organization is upfront about your impressive values, you want to avoid discontent from new hires who might have some underlying misalignment. Not everyone is going to align with your company values and that’s okay.
Here’s one of my favorite core values at DH: be true to your (weird) authentic self.
If one of our candidates couldn’t be their authentic selves, it would be hard for them to adjust to the culture at DH. Eventually, they might feel uncomfortable, out of place, and have a low degree of psychological safety and we definitely wouldn’t want that for them (or us)!
So instead of pushing people to conform to our values, we directly ask them again if they are aligned. It’s as easy as saying, “so you’ve learned about our values. Are you willing to accept them and live them out? And are you willing to contribute to the culture?"
Do you want to refresh your core values or help bring them to life in your workplace? See which culture solutions might be best for you:
