Hire to Protect Your Company Culture

Marcianne Kuethen

June 25, 2013

The day James hired Andrew, he was sure his new employee would be a raging success right out of the gate. Andrew’s confidence, past experience, and go-get-‘em attitude convinced James he could get the job done. But from the beginning, James met with resistance as he tried to train him. Andrew always seemed to have a better way to do things and clearly felt superior to the other employees. Normally a friendly team, the employees started ignoring Andrew.

After months of below-average production, Andrew began hinting for a promotion, indicating that his skills were better suited to another position. While the other employees worked using proven methods and kept their noses to the grindstone, Andrew—well, James wasn’t sure what exactly he did, but it wasn’t productive, and his behavior was lowering company morale. James was considering firing him when, to his relief, Andrew unexpectedly gave his notice. Now James was free to find another employee who would be a better fit.

Have you ever hired a new employee with the right skills but who ultimately crashed and burned on the job? As the leader who makes hiring decisions, you bear the crucial responsibility of protecting your company’s culture—which is distinctly different from any other company’s in existence. But if you’re like most bosses, you don’t have a degree in psychology, and hiring a person who’s a great fit is a lot harder than it looks! What can you do to avoid hiring an employee who could actually damage the good thing your company has going on?

Dharmesh Shah, founder and CTO at HubSpot, outlines 5 hiring mistakes to avoid to keep you from going into what he calls culture debt. “Culture debt happens when a business takes a shortcut and hires an employee with, say, the “right” skills or experience…but who doesn’t fit the culture. Just one bad hire can create a wave of negativity that washes over every other employee – and as a result, your entire business.”

Does that sound familiar? Most of us have made a hire our company culture has lived to regret. If you have, too, then click here to read about 5 hiring mistakes you’ll want to avoid to stay out of culture debt.

PIHRA Conference: Do you wish you could reduce your recruiting costs by up to 50%? During August 26-28, 2013, Amtec will be exhibiting our RPO services at the PIHRA (Professionals in Human Resources Association) Conference. Stop by Booth 835 and find out how you can save time and money–and still make great hires!

Want to hire effective employees? Read about 8 qualities of the ideal 2013 candidate.

By Marcianne Kuethen