Company values are the fundamental beliefs of an organisation. These values act as guiding principals from internal communications to building relationships with clients or customers. It’s the essence of a company’s identity and it’s integral for business development and growth.
Values Based Hiring
Episode 151 of The Recruiting Futures podcast hosted by Matt Adler explores the subject of values based hiring with guest, Natalie McGrath, VP of People at Coinbase. Based in San Fransico, California, Coinbase is a tech company that brokers the exchanges of cryptocurrencies internationally.
During Coinbase’s peak of hyper-growth, McGrath relates the experience of hiring 50 employees in a month! During a period of hyper-growth, how does a company maintain the quality of talent acquisition?
McGrath discusses some key factors that lead to developing a strong company culture at Coinbase from 50 employees to 500.
1. Get Clear on Company Values
There’s no right guideline on creating your company’s values as anyone can write down values. it all comes down to embodying these principles. Reflect on what your organisation’s purpose is for existing and determine what is important to you and your team.
2. Implement Recruitment Metrics
Tools like Greenhouse.io and Crunchbase are smart solutions to streamline your recruitment process. These programs can track where your talents engage with applications and measures growth.
3. Ask the Right Questions
When it comes to real life, what do the company values look like? Ask each candidate the same interview questions to determine—as McGrath puts it “if they live and breathe our values.”
The hiring team should have prepared what right and wrong answers sound like, to better prepare themselves during the interview screening.
4. Invest in People
It’s inevitable that company culture will change as the company grows. McGrath emphasises the importance of investing in people—make your company a place that people want to work at. This strengthens employer branding to attract talent and keeps your current team happy and engaged in the company mission.
Strengthening company values is more than ticking off the skills and experience on job descriptions when meeting candidates. You’re looking for talent who have values that align with your business. It might seem like a no-brainer, but this is where fostering a healthy company culture stems from and it makes for an effective talent acquisition strategy.
