What’s your company’s mission statement? Do you know? Is it written down anywhere? Have you ever sat down and discussed what it means with your colleagues? The reason I ask these questions is because, believe it or not, company values are something that aren’t often talked about.

Most companies have them in some form, but they’re not talked about in a way that employees can connect with them on a deeper level. Today I’m going to talk about how you can hire based on values, and why this can be an effective strategy for your business.

What is values-based recruitment?

I have worked in my company for 5 years and I am fed up with a lot of decisions they take. So, I am going to quit my job but would like to find a new employer that is more aligned with my own workplace values. What I mean by hiring people based on their work culture values? What are some good ways of approaching potential candidates who may be a good fit and how do you determine if they are trustworthy?

Is it as simple as asking them directly about how they feel about certain work practices and see if there’s alignment between what you want and what they want. I really enjoy working here because we value spending time with our families. If your current company is focused on ‘family first’ too – that could be great!

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How do you recruit based on values?

Businesses with a clear set of company values have a competitive advantage over those that do not. They can attract employees and customers who value what they’re offering, as well as repel those who are looking for something different. To start putting together your list of core values, think about what’s most important to you in your job, life, relationships and other areas.

Once you figure out your own core values, create a list of those that are most important to you personally, then compare it with how your company treats its employees. To decide which company values are essential, determine what is absolutely non-negotiable in terms of employee treatment.

Why is value-based recruitment important?

When you understand what is important to you, it becomes much easier to assess a potential workplace and determine if it’s a good fit. Understanding your own personal value system also means that you can create job descriptions that will attract candidates who share those same values. Workplace dynamics are positively affected when employees feel like they’re working in an environment that aligns with their morals and beliefs.

For example, data scientist David Robinson has conducted research into work engagement. He found that people were 27% more engaged at work when their personal and professional values aligned with their employer’s corporate culture; he also found high levels of engagement among gay workers, even though there wasn’t always full cultural alignment between their personal and professional lives.

What is the formula for quality of hire?

If you’re looking to bring someone new into your organization, one of your goals should be figuring out whether they’ll fit in well and if their values are aligned with yours. You probably already have an idea of what qualities make a good employee: work ethic, intelligence, honesty and integrity.

But how do you find someone who has those qualities without relying on luck? To do that, you need a process for evaluating candidates. The key lies in determining what really matters to you as an employer (and by extension, a business owner) and then designing screening questions that get at those factors.

How do you align company values?

It’s no secret that most people dread going to work. According to a 2012 Gallup poll, 70% of American workers are either not engaged or actively disengaged in their jobs. This is true even in big companies with high-quality management and solid company culture. But how do you ensure alignment between your startup’s values and new hires?

What if employees leave because they aren’t a good fit for your business values (and your office isn’t somewhere they can thrive)?

What are the advantages of value-based recruitment?

Hiring people that share your company’s values is an excellent strategy for ensuring cultural alignment. Businesses that place a premium on culture, like Basecamp and ZenPayroll, have built their company cultures around shared values. The result is increased employee satisfaction, retention and productivity. But how do you determine whether or not a candidate shares your organization’s business and personal ethics?

Or if they are even willing to consider them before making a decision about who they want to work with every day? By asking candidates targeted questions about their own core business and life principles!

What is values mapping in recruitment?

In recruitment, organizations often overlook a key resource: its existing employees. Organizations should conduct a values-mapping exercise with their employees before starting any new recruitment initiatives. A values-mapping exercise is an employee engagement survey which will help your organization identify areas of misalignment between employee and job values.

Once identified, these areas of misalignment can be addressed through training, coaching and mentoring of current employees and improved selection process when hiring new ones. Conducting a values mapping exercise not only ensures that you are creating cultures that are in line with your company’s mission but also ensures that you attract candidates who align with your core values when hiring.

Values-based job interview techniques

The problem is that many managers, who have been socialized into playing a dominant role in their relationships with subordinates, think of themselves as benevolent dictators who are owed obedience and respect. Nothing could be further from truth. We are responsible for how we treat others and we should look at our work situations through two lenses: how we want to be treated and what would make our lives more meaningful.

From these lenses, we can make decisions about which jobs are aligned with our values and those that aren’t. Hiring someone with shared values is critical for a long-term relationship with minimal job anxiety or depression; it also increases productivity when employees feel genuinely valued by their employers and workplace culture encourages creativity.

Values-based recruitment disadvantages

Not only are values-based recruiters theoretically blind when it comes to finding a candidate who’s an amazing fit for their company culture, but many of them fail to take into account that perhaps it’s not such a good idea to hire candidates who are all like themselves. A misalignment of work values could ultimately lead you down a slippery slope toward depression, frustration and resentment.

After all, your job is still your job and nobody likes working at a place where they don’t enjoy going each day. If that means more time at home doing things you love with people you love (and your boss just happens to know what those things are), then so be it. And remember: Your perfect employee could come from anywhere – they might not even be actively looking for new jobs!