Hiring For Microculture

Finding the right person for the right job is not enough on its own. The person you want to hire should be the “right fit” to complete and strengthen your cultural contexts of the jobs within the organization, not conflict with them.

For example, a self-directed new hire with an ambition of starting her/his own business will probably quit the job at your company after she/he gets some knowledge of the position, the work or the industry. In return, this will cost your company time and money, as you will need to search for new candidates to replace this employee.

Both large and small companies have macro and micro cultures that an employee needs to be able to work effectively:

A macro culture is an organization’s way to do things, its general values, beliefs and behaviors, the ways in which people relate to one another and so forth. On the other hand, micro culture characterizes different departments or job functions and it is likely to have different micro cultures within the same organization. A company may appear to be very formal with strict rules to the outside world but there are likely to be different micro cultures within the same organization. For example, the behaviors of teammates towards each other in different departments or the dressing style in each department are usually different from another; while an IT personnel can go to work with jeans, a marketing personnel wears suits.

A new hire should fit into these micro cultures, also enjoy and enrich them, and the key to hire the right fit person is to understand these micro cultures of your company. An introvert and formal person is probably not a good choice to work with an energetic and friendly group of workers.

• How informed and involved do I/we feel in our group’s overall strategy and decision-making? Very or not at all?
• How do we dress for work? Formally, casually or mixed?
• How much spontaneous gathering for fun, breaks and stress relief do we engage in? None, some or a lot?
• How much do we get together outside of office? None, some or a lot?
• How much privacy and quiet do I/we have? None, some or a lot?
• What kind of overall culture do I/we think our group emphasizes? Customer service, innovation, operational excellence or spirit?
• What parts of the culture does someone have to subscribe to in order to fit in?
• Does the current culture match with the desired atmosphere?
• What measures might help to improve our current work culture or fill the gaps if there is any?