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How Vision and Values are the key to Recruitment in 2015

With the Chartered Institute of Learning and Professional Development (CIPD) citing that 2015 will be the year when more than a third will be looking for a new job, employers are going to have to work harder to identify and retain top talent. But how?

The same survey also revealed that there will be a dramatic drop in those choosing new roles mainly based on pay. Employees want more. So, how can you as a hiring manager find the perfect match to keep your new recruits satisfied for the long haul? We believe that ‘the biggest mistake that companies make is to recruit people who are not aligned with their Vision and Values’.

What is ‘Alignment’? Alignment is quite simply the integration of four success factors that apply to individuals, teams and organisations and they are Mind (strategy), Body (action), Emotion (values/relationships) and Spirit (vison).

‘Alignment enables organisations to maximise their potential and achieve exceptional sustainable performance.’

Most individuals and organisations only function well on the achievement axis i.e. mind (strategy) and Body (action) constantly driving for better results. There is nothing wrong with this other than it has its limitations as human beings also require the motivation of the spiritual axis, the softer side to job satisfaction. If you truly want exceptional performance you need to consider how new and existing recruits align to the company’s vision and values.

Why is alignment so important for recruitment?

In Jim Collins’ book from ‘Good to Great’ he talks about getting the right people on the right bus in the right seats. First things first, recruit the right people with the right attitude and behaviour and ensure they believe in your vision and mission.

Jack Welsh the former boss of General Electric once said that he would only hire and retain people who had the ability to learn and the right attitude .If they didn’t have the skill he could train them and if they didn’t have the right attitude they would be a problem and take up a lot of valuable management time and energy.

While strategy and action are easily understood by leaders and managers the role of vison and values is greatly underestimated and usually ignored. At best, a company may have a vision and values statement but don’t implement it. So, what is the point?

Why Vision?

It may seem like a strange question to ask, ‘Why’ or the meaning and purpose of your business but when the going gets tough you need the energy born of a powerful ‘Why’ to keep you going.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do”. Steve Jobs, Apple Inc., Co-founder, Chairman and CEO.

If you share your ‘Why’ then your staff will also buy you because they understand the thinking behind what you do. If you consider iconic brands like Apple, Nike, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream they all know why they do what they do. If you want to build motivation and trust with your people understand the organisation’s ‘Why’ first.

Here is ‘Apple’s’ WHY: - ‘Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. And we happen to make great computers…’ Apple had a mission in the world to give every individual the opportunity of having access to powerful computers. It was this belief that helped them build an enormous fan base of people (both staff and customers) who identified with their ‘Why’.

Your Why needs to be bigger than just a financial reward

When recruiting, people will be motivated by the need to generate personal security in the form of income and they may want a great lifestyle but that isn’t enough. Most want to make a difference or at least have some sense of meaning and purpose in their work (their WHY).

So, if as an organisation you want your new employees to give of their best, be energised and take initiative to ensure that they buy in to your ‘Why‘.

Here are some questions that you can ask yourself to help think about your Why.

Why do you do what you do as an organisation?(more than just finance)
What service do you really offer your customers?
What is your organisation’s big dream or idea?
How do you share your vision and passion with your team/customers?
How can you ensure that any new recruit buys into your vision?

Why Values?

These are the values agreed by a group of people (organisation) and form the basis of their behaviour. They can include integrity, trust, respect, learning, excellence and performance etc.

What leaders often fail to realise is that the culture of a company lies at the heart of its success. There may be formal and informal signs and symbols that represent the culture but living the values everyday makes the biggest difference. When people are trusted through effective delegation, when they are shown respect by being listened to, when they are recognised for excellence and performance they usually respond with energy and commitment.

Here are some questions that you can ask yourself to help think about your values.

What are the values of your company?
How do you make them live every day?
How do you recognise and reward positive behaviour?
What are the absolute must have values you want in your new recruits?

Benefits of Alignment

When organisations apply alignment (Vision, Ethical values, Goals and Action) to their recruitment process they inevitably save time, stress and money by getting the best candidates to fit to their organisational culture. This should lead to hires for the long term, those who grow with your company and help to grow the company. A perfect match!

Ardour Recruitment works with Developing Potential to help to align new recruits to the existing vision and values of an organisation. If you want further information on how you can apply this to your recruitment strategy, we would love to hear from you.