When making their next hire, most companies focus on the resume. Skills, experience and education are all important pieces of the puzzle, but they aren’t the whole picture.
What’s often missing is alignment with a company’s core values – a critical component in identifying true culture fit. Too often, this is overlooked during the hiring process, even though it’s one of the strongest predictors of long-term success.
If they are being used correctly, core values aren’t just words on a wall. They are the heartbeat of your organization. They shape how your team communicates, how decisions are made and how you define “winning.”
Strong core values benefit more than the employee and their team – it has a direct impact on your profitability. When employees resonate with a company’s core values, they’re more likely to be engaged, motivated and collaborative. That means better work, higher retention, and more profit over time.
We’ve all seen firsthand that even the most qualified candidates don’t thrive within an organization if their core values don’t align. You can train for skill, but you can’t coach someone into caring about the same things your company does.
If you’ve ever read Patrick Lencioni’s leadership fable, 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, you’ll remember the tale of a CMO who put out great results but brought down the morale and energy of her team. She was highly qualified on paper, but wasn’t a right fit for the culture.
Hiring for values doesn’t mean lowering the bar on skills – it means raising the bar on culture fit.
During the interview process, we help our clients dig deeper by truly getting to know their culture inside and out. Then, we ask candidates key questions to reveal how they think and prioritize in real-world situations. Where there’s alignment, there’s possibility.
Core values are your compass. Lean on them to guide your next hire.
At Barrel Recruiting, we don’t just fill seats – we help you build teams that thrive. Reach out today to get to know how we can help you not just hire, but hire better.