When Peter Drucker said—‘Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast’, among other things, he also meant that irrespective of how good one’s strategic plan is, it is bound to fail in absentia a shared belief in a shared vision, borne out of the same culture. Decades later, a majority of organisations are still en route defining ‘culture’, building it for all, yet attempting to use it as a unique value proposition for employees.
There are so many change factors that are shaping the global markets—a pandemic that disrupted global ecosystems and economies with multiple generations as part of the same workforce, and VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) becoming so VUCA that it sounds almost jaded. Given the chaos that prevails, what do candidates look for when choosing their next job?
Allow me to elucidate. Right after Covid-19, organisations quickly evolved their focus and invested heavily on employee experience and optimal engagement. Mid-2024, and organisations and people leaders are struggling to get people back at office, resulting in trends, such as office peacocking, among others.
Today, the choice, for potential employees on the cusp of choosing their next employer, is not straightforward. In a world of opportunities and options, people need to go beyond evaluating through the traditional lense. How committed is the employer to the long-term growth of employees? What exactly is the company culture? Are potential employees willing to actively contribute to evolving the business culture? What are the diversity and inclusion ratio and rates? What are the training programmes and their efficacy in the last three years? Do these align with the potential employees’ life goals?’
The alignment of efficient training programmes with the future goals is slowly evolving as a key consideration for potential employees.
I often say to my teams — “We are not for everyone, and everyone is not for us”. When I speak to leaders across geographies, I often ask them if their teams are personally aligned to the organisation’s goals. If not, they may stick for some time but will not last. The difference lies in the ‘may’ and the ‘will’. It’s important to hire talented people who are very growth centric and truly want to evolve in their careers in the long term.
Understanding the work culture of prospective employers
‘We offer a great, collaborative and growth-led culture’. An oft heard statement you’d say? Most organisations today spend significant time in building a culture that lets people thrive. But does it enable them to be a business owner and think like one?
As a potential employee, do you want to build and be a part of the organisation’s growth or be limited to and by your roles and day-to-day responsibilities? These aspects are crucial to understanding an organisation’s work culture. Similarly, does the organisation hire based on skills rather than tenure? There are multiple such aspects that candidates today need to seriously evaluate as part of choosing their next job.
In a recent conversation I had with a prospective senior leadership hire, she mentioned that one of her core beliefs is that she wants to feel responsible for the organisation’s growth and wanted to understand if we enable teams to do that.
Culture should be defined not only by softer and collaboration-led approaches but several other factors such as mindset synergies, growth alignment and opportunity to act as ‘business owners’ irrespective of organisational designations. Every employee, regardless of their scope, should get to influence the culture we’re building and inculcate the values of our workplace.
Evaluate the recruitment experience and employee value propositions (EVPs)
In a technology-first world where the younger generation is truly the future of the world more than ever before, organisations need to re-evaluate their recruitment experience and employee value propositions. For instance, organisations need to share timely and automated feedback during the recruitment process. True employee experience and engagement begins at the recruitment phase and not post onboarding. And this is a huge influencer for candidates today.
Organisations still struggle to share real-time feedback to candidates at every stage, and this is largely because the process continues to be, by and large, manual rather than automated. Similarly, people teams need to gather experiential feedback to improve recruitment strategies and focus more on data-driven recruitment decisions, which will enable greater transparency and efficiency.
From a candidate’s perspective, the experience during the entire recruitment process may be a turnkey moment.
Evaluate the ‘potential’ for growth and career development
The concept of co-building is inherently a first-choice for employees. This not only enables faster growth and career development but motivates employees and keeps them close to the business. A business of high principle attracts high-calibre people more easily, thereby gaining a basic competitive and profit edge. It is crucial that employees start evaluating their prospective employers from this fast-tracked potential of growth.
When people have the opportunity to do work they are naturally gifted at and trained to do, they are sure to excel, thrive and drive the company and teams forward. And in the same breath, if teams are not actively utilised based on their abilities, it becomes a deterrent over a period of time.
From a career-development perspective, employees need to look at training programmes that help them build diverse skill sets and upskill in emerging technologies such as data science, artificial intelligence, and general management through personalised learning paths. Employees need to evaluate if there are strong global mobility programmes, enabling employees to get global exposure and acquire the right skills to become global contributors and leaders.
To conclude, the job market is ever evolving, especially with technology being at the forefront for generations to come. As organisations continue to build workplaces that last, and cultures that enable them, it is important for employees to look at a multitude of things.
As Moe Carrick and Cammie Dunaway, co-authors of Fit Matters: How to Love Your Job put it – “Employee engagement arises out of culture and not the other way around.”
The author of this article, Ritesh Patel is the co-founder of Quantiphi