Is your company culture driving staff retention?

Average retention in the recruitment sector is just 15 months and two thirds of job changers attribute culture and values as a key contributor when changing employer.

So how well is your organisation assessing culture and values fit when selecting new staff?

When working with clients to understand organisational culture, Melius consultants use the headings of Vision, Values, Practices, People, Narrative and Place articulated by John Coleman in the Harvard Business Review to understand corporate culture in the organisations we work with.

By asking questions about how your organisation works, it’s possible to get an objective view of organisational culture and how this affects both recruitment and retention.

The following framework can be used to understand how your organisation’s culture and values impact on recruitment and retention.

Vision 

How clear and distinct is your organisations vision?  How closely does the reality of working life reflect your corporate vision?  Organisations with a clear direction and alignment towards achievement generally outperform those with less focus.

Values

What are your organisations values?  How well are they applied?  How relevant are they to decision making and business practices within your organisation? Aligning measurement of business practices and performance to company values.

Practices

What does your organisation articulate in the way it behaves and expects its staff to behave?  Language and communication can be acutely accurate indications of how the organisations culture really is.  Does everyone have clear goals, duties and responsibilities that align to business objectives?  How well do leaders and staff connect? 

People 

How do you people feel about working in your organisation.  When walking into your offices do people seem engaged, interactive, excited, happy, friendly, morose, or withdrawn?  How do you people work together?  Does the team reflect the communities you work in or serve?

Narrative

Does your company story help others understand why the organisation works the way it does? Are your people aware of key moments and shaping experiences in your organisations history?

Place

What does the working environment say about how your staff interact with the organisation? Personal objects, pictures and artefacts suggest a work environment where people are settled and see themselves staying.  Impersonal spaces often tell a rather different story.   

Culture & Values Assessment

The analytical tools deployed by Melius improve recruitment success by accurately mapping corporate culture and values at the start of each assignment, and objectively measuring how well applicants match to your style during the selection process.

For a complimentary Culture and Values Assessment to help understand how your organisations behaviours and practices impact on staff retention, engage with Melius before the end of January 2018.