Culture Assessment - Hiring and Retaining the Right Staff

The first post in this Hiring and Retaining the Right Staff series was “in a nutshell.”  My goal in the subsequent posts is to break it down. After a hiatus, I’m continuing. I didn’t get very far before the time off. I’m still on the first three of eight:

1. First you need to understand your firm in a holistic manner. The missing link you need to hire for may already be clear… or in may not be.

2. This is an important factor as hiring for the wrong reason or the wrong person can impede the progress you’re trying to make.

3. Understanding your current Culture and preferred Culture can clarify the hire you need to make – not only skill set and attributes… values, interpersonal – need to be aligned with your firm’s Culture.

The best way I’ve found, if you don’t already know, about your firm’s culture to assess and discuss it in an organized manner. This will also help you define who needs to be hired – the skill set – perhaps even the personality structure – of the needed hire. After all, we are speaking about hiring. Even if you’re hiring or promoting into the C-suite level, I would say incredible so, you need be clear about the need of the company – aka the tasks and focus you need the hire to tend to.

The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) based on The Competing Values of Leadership, Effectiveness, and Organizational Theory is an excellent tool to use (Cameron, K & Quinn, R. 2011). However, it may take some external help to implement it to it’s fullest potential. Review it, discuss it, decide if you need external help. The tool is part of a larger process to gain clarity. It may be just the exercise you need if you’re hiring process hasn’t led to greater organizational success.