Build Culture, Build Brand…
Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006
Today’s agencies know that having the best talent wins the game. To attract the best talent, your company must build a positive culture. “Culture” may be today’s buzzword, but its effect cannot be overstated. Peter Metz, creative director for Sockeye Creative, states, “I think culture is huge in our industry–so anything you can do to improve it, the better the creative is going to be. Designers are a touchy-feely group. They need to fell supported and have trust in the process. Otherwise they will be much more guarded and that doesn’t lead to good work.”
Building a positive culture begins with positive recruitment and retention strategies. Are unqualified resumes filed away on your hard drive, never to be seen again? Or, are they just deleted entirely? Do you respond to those candidates who are unqualified? If not, you need to rethink your strategy. Any contact with potential employees, qualified or not, helps build your brand identity in the marketplace.
Your first contact with potential employees is usually the interview. Don’t fall into the trap of making candidates answer what they can do for your company. You need to allow candidates to interview you and the company. Think of the interview as an exploration of what it would be like to work together. Treat people as if they were already part of the team and helping to building the brand.
Hire cultural fit over skills and experience when deciding between candidates. Don’t sacrifice experience or skills your company needs, but also don’t be afraid to pass on a hot shot if he or she doesn’t fit the company culture. Hiring without this fit could poison the culture, the brand and ultimately alienate the employee. “My own checklist in interviewing candidates for any position in the company included cultural fit. Being a good fit meant more than having the right skills or relevant experience for the job,” says Steff MacDonald, VP of client services for Dunthorpe Marketing. “‘Fit’ meant being able to verbally and non-verbally demonstrate how closely their own core values or inner culture would benefit the team and company. Of course it takes more time and interviews to discover these key traits but when we invested the time to do this we hired happier long-term employees who helped meet outstanding company goals and grew very well professionally.”
I know about building culture first-hand. I joined ID Branding and Via Training in 2000 as the Human Resources Manager and I had my work cut out for me. Although ID was known as a hip design agency, Via was still unknown as an online sales-training company. Sales training was not an easy sell, and I knew I had to build the best culture possible to recruit the most talented people. By 2005 Via employed almost 140 of Portland’s most talented people. In five years, Via had grown rapidly and became known as a fun, fair and overall great place to work.
Most creative shops in Portland aren’t large enough to have an internal recruiter or an HR department. You may not need these positions to attract talent, but you do need a philosophy and a process for hiring managers. Your recruitment process must ensure follow-up with candidates, qualified or not. This is crucial. You never want candidates to say “I interviewed there but never heard back.”
Building a positive culture builds your brand. Remember, the process of creating that culture starts the day a candidate calls you about a job opening. It starts the day a resume hits your inbox, or the day a candidate interviews. A positive culture attracts and retains the best, most talented people. Attracting and retaining talent drives your company’s success. Here’s to culture, brand and success!