Company Culture: set and reinforced through interviews

Company Culture: know where you are going

Where does company culture start?

Many people feel that company culture begins on the new employees’ first day. I say it starts with the job posting and the first interview.  Interviewing for a job is a lot like buying a car. A necessary evil. No one likes the process. Everyone has to go through it. We usually end up sharing the experience with all our friends.

I think that a lot of companies take the interviewing process for granted, and this hurts the company’s culture.  Companies might think they take it seriously. Most bring the candidate in, put them in front of a few employees, maybe a director or VP, and make a decision. Some companies can hire someone in as few as two interviews and a single afternoon. Some take it a few steps further and hold interview training, but most companies will do the bare minimum and just review the illegal questions. 

As often as we are asked illegal questions during an interview, I sometimes wonder what our HR colleagues are doing at other companies.  No wonder so many employees are down on HR. The fact that there are so many posts and articles addressing illegal interview questions tells you something. My opinion is why you should answer illegal interview questions here.  

Why so many interviews?

When we interview, candidates go through multiple interviews and multiple visits.  We ask candidates to talk with folks with more experience and less experience. Candidates talk with someone in their discipline and someone from outside of their discipline. Execs have the same interview loop. We want to give candidates the best possible view of our company so they can make the most informed decision. Interview loops provide as many looks from different angles as possible without making the process painful.

We are also confident that the more people candidates talk with, the more they will want to work with us. Answers to candidates’ questions will be consistent and reinforce company culture. We set expectations with the candidate about the interview process. What should they expect, and, most importantly, “why.” This happens very early in the process. We invest heavily in the interview process, but we feel that it pays off in a lower turnover.

So, what can the interview process do for a company beyond vetting candidates?  I think that the interview process is one of the most important processes in a company. It usually receives the most minor investment. Companies spend a ton of money on sales training, and extracurricular technical classes can run $10K per person, but how many of us have had “interview training”?

Lasting impression

The job listing, talks with the recruiter, interviews, and offers or declines form a lasting impression. The experience will not be because of the recruiter but the company culture. Candidates are potential customers, vendors, and potential FUTURE candidates and employees. They can act as referrals and will be evangelists regardless of the outcome. We have all shared our car-buying stories, and we have all shared our interview stories when we went through our last interview loop.

The Job Description

When I create a job listing, I want it to set a tone, attract the right candidates, and, more importantly, weed out the wrong candidates. There are too many listings that list out a generic description with nondescript bullet points that can be cut and pasted into any position. We have used bullets like:

• Office Manager: You are resourceful enough to find us a Fridge by Friday with 100.00 cash
• Product Manager: “Can’t,” “won’t happen,” and blank stares are not part of your verbal or body language
• Tester:  You have OCD-ish attention to detail and an innate ability to find something wrong with ANYTHING while bringing it up in a positive way
• We mention Elvis in every listing (just because)

We are trying to set a tone, set ourselves apart, and weed out anyone who doesn’t relate. This is because we value our company culture and don’t want to put it at risk. We WANT to scare off the wrong candidate because we aren’t for everyone, and no company is.  Candidates get excited about working with a company that “isn’t their fathers”. We want that feeling from the moment they read our job posting.

We sell who we is, not what the candidate wants, and not who we ain’t

Our company culture is that of a startup.  Folks are heads down, headphones on, and there is always collaboration on the whiteboards. Our desks are small, and our chairs don’t match, but candidates continually say, “I can feel the energy in this place.” We take a Zen approach.  This company sells our strengths, and we don’t focus on our weaknesses.  We are looking for folks who will go to bat for each other, like brothers and sisters defending the tribe from invaders. 

Before someone comes into the office for an interview, we set expectations.  We let folks know we have a collaborative environment. The small desks have no partitions or “privacy screens.” My neighbor’s paperwork and the coffee cup are occasionally on my desk (and that is OK; we both take cream and sugar). We let folks know upfront this isn’t for everyone. We also let them know that we are easy to collaborate with, communication is fast, and we get stuff done. Agile, release every week.  Nuff’ said.

We know who we want to work with

We aren’t looking for someone who needs a big office. Getting stuff done with weekly releases means more hours per week worked, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.  Yes, we have plenty of folks over 35 who are married with kids (plural). We are located in the dead center of some of the largest internet companies in the world.  AMZN is a stone’s throw away). We are a David amongst Goliaths. This company doesn’t sell size; we sell speed. We don’t sell catered lunches; we sell an underdog spirit. If I were in Corporate America, I would sell a different elixir. This band of Davids is proud of what we do. More importantly, we are proud of how we do it.

When I introduce a candidate to someone on the team, I say something like, “This is Tommy; he comes from XYZ company, where he managed 20 folks and was responsible for over $20M in revenue. He just closed (Insert Fortune 500 Company here)”.  “This is Bill; he just saved us $40K in AWS costs. Every person who gets an introduction to a candidate will get some serious props for past and present accomplishments. Candidates hear greatness from team members about team members. As much as we are interviewing a candidate, we also sell an opportunity. We are not only recognizing our team, but we want the candidate to know that we hire seriously and they better bring their “A” game. We are not only reinforcing our company culture for our team, but we are also setting the culture bar for anyone coming in.

Our ultimate goal

We aim to send the candidate home excited about an opportunity to work with us. It doesn’t matter if they are overqualified, underqualified, or a stellar candidate. We want them stoked, anxious, and hungry for an opportunity to be part of this company culture.  This isn’t a J.O.B.; this is a lifestyle. If it isn’t the right opportunity, there may be another one.   If not for themselves, then for a friend they will refer.

Yes, I am a used car salesman, but I am proud of this used car. It deserves the best frickin’ driver and a badass pit crew

As you go through your interviews, pay attention to the process. When I go out to a restaurant, if the bathrooms are dirty, then the kitchen is probably worse. Question how the company is run if your interview process isn’t enjoyable. How is the team treated? Do you want to spend 55 hours a week there? You don’t have to be a large company to have this process down, you need to pay attention to the details.

See you at the after party,
HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

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