Company Culture Is Important as Salaries for IT Candidates

In this article, our team explores what company culture is, and why the right cultural environment is so important to prospective employees these days.

What is Company Culture?

Corporate culture refers to the personality of a business. It’s how team members behave within the work environment on a company-wide scale. Company culture includes mission statements, ethos and encompasses how they hire people and the rewards companies offer their staff.

Companies who promote a good culture are proven to have a happier and more productive workforce and find it easier to attract great people.

Why is Corporate Culture Important to a Company’s Success?

When it comes to attracting talented IT professionals, workplace culture is as vital as salaries. During the recent Business Cloud’ Tech Recruitment Timebomb’ event in London, representatives from several companies shared their thoughts on the subject. They were in agreement that recruitment is a leading challenge for tech companies. Having the right company culture can help attract the best talent as much as competitive salaries can.

Speaking at the event was Tim Broughton, founder and CTO of the refer-a-friend marketing platform, Mention Me. Broughton spoke of how recruitment is his number one challenge.

“The market for tech talent is out there, but it’s a candidate-driven market where all the good engineers have great jobs already, so it’s a case of trying to persuade them to move away from those“…”Definitely 10 out of 10 top challenge, it’s the bane of my life. I’ve done a lot of successful hiring in the past, and now I feel like I’ve lost my knack.”

Tim Broughton – Founder of MentionMe

Having a great company culture is essential to attracting the right talent. Employers, particularly within the tech sector, which are struggling to fill vital roles with the right talent, are having to build their brand and prove they offer a culture that people would want to work in, develop their career, and thrive.

How to Find a Company With Good Culture?

Millennials, a tech-savvy generation, are playing a significant role in raising the value of culture in the recruitment process. By deliberately seeking out companies who are a good match for their own beliefs and values, they are forcing companies to raise their game.

Tech firms and organisations in general with good company culture, typically adhere to the following principles:

• Show transparent and inclusive leadership
• Provide ongoing support, training and development
• Offer more flexible working practices, such as flexitime and working from home opportunities to improve work/life balance day to day
• Be responsive to employees’ needs
• Provide honest, constructive feedback that allows employees to make suggestions and voice concerns
• Have an active social calendar
• Provide the opportunity for employees to be creative, inventive and become innovators within the company
• Offer company perks such as free lunches, early finishes and dress down days

A study in 2016 showed just how essential millennials consider an inspiring, motivating company culture that offers a better work/life balance is when selecting a prospective employer.

The study by Fidelity showed millennials would be willing to take an average pay cut of $7,600 if they could work somewhere with better company culture. Instead, prioritising work/life balance, where they could improve their career development and find more purposeful work.

By offering an inspiring and rewarding company culture that makes the interests and career development of employees a priority, tech employers will not only help attract and retain the best talent, but they will help boost productivity, creativity and innovation within their workforce, by creating a happy, content and loyal set of workers, who are keen to please.

How to Maintain Company Culture

For businesses to maintain a positive company culture, it is crucial to hire employees whose values and beliefs align with those of the business.

Many businesses use recruitment software to streamline their hiring process. While this undoubtedly has time-saving benefits, ATS systems are not sophisticated enough to assess a candidate’s personality. It is, therefore, essential that establishing a good culture fit is part of the interview process.

The questions hiring managers ask during a job interview should, therefore, be designed to assess whether or not a candidate would be a good fit.

To Conclude

We hope you now have a better understanding of company culture and how it could benefit your business. If you found it useful, we’d love it if you could share it on your favourite social media channel! #SharingIsCaring

If you have any tips or advice to offer others about company culture, why not share them below? Or if you have any questions on the subject, don’t hesitate to contact our team.