Startups face a significant challenge in attracting and retaining top talent. While salary and benefits are crucial considerations, they are not the only factors that motivate employees. Company culture plays an equally important role in attracting talented professionals.
Startup employees want to hear more than just what the job is - they want to know what it’s like to work for you and get a real sense of how you treat your people. Therefore, taking time to explain your startup’s company culture before getting into the interview questions should be an essential part of your recruitment process.
What even is company culture?
Company culture is defined as a set of shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices that shape an organisation’s behaviour and environment. It sets the tone for how startup employees interact with one another, customers, and stakeholders. A positive company culture fosters a sense of belonging, empowers employees, and creates a work environment that is conducive to growth, innovation, and collaboration. Conversely, a toxic or negative culture can lead to disengagement, turnover, and low morale, and is a key reason why employees leave an organisation.
Why is talking about company culture so important?
Discussing your company culture can also help you identify candidates who share your values and are a good fit for your organisation. Candidates who align with your culture are more likely to thrive in your work environment, feel more satisfied with their job, and stay with your company for a more extended period.
Many interviewers forget to talk about their culture and forget that it is a key selling point for a candidate, preferring to jump straight into assessing skill and experience match. Talking about company culture should for a part of your sales pitch to your candidates and is a key way to set yourself apart from other startups who are looking for the same kind of candidate.
What should I talk about?
Talking about your startup culture isn’t something you can do effectively off the cuff. Unless you have really thought about it, you run the risk of not being clear, or come off quite wishy-washy. Culture can be hard to describe, so don’t get caught off guard with an interview question, plan in advance.
VALUES - the foundation of any company culture and will give those potential hires an idea of what kind of team they are joining. So talk about what your values are and how you live them on a daily basis.
YOUR MISSION - every startup has one, a reason the startup exists and what you are hoping to achieve. The candidate needs to see how their work will contribute to this goal. So talk about the mission and how it’s reflected in your work environment, how you and your team are working towards it but also how you see this new role contributing to the bigger goals.
TEAM DYNAMICS - how do you work together, as a team? How do you collaborate? You might want to talk about how cross-functional collaboration and teamwork is encouraged, how decisions are made within the team and how you celebrate successes and support each other during challenging times.
WORK/LIFE Balance - this is a big one and you need to be very clear and honest about how your startup approaches it. The work can be intense and challenging in a startup, which makes it that much more important. You need to talk about expectations but also what is your stance on flexible working, remote working options and mental health and time off policies.
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT - Potential employees want to know that they’ll be able to learn new skills and take on new challenges to grow their careers. So talk about how your startup invests in and encourages professional development. Highlight training and development opportunities you offer. What does the future of the role holder look like - is there a possibility for upward movement or trying out different things?
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION - You need to be clear on how your startup approaches DEI, promotes a welcoming and inclusive environment for all employees, and how you address any issues that might come up.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY - Demonstrate that you’re more than just here for the profit (at least, if you are). Talk about how your startup supports philanthropic, environmental and community causes - if you do.
Any other hints or tips?
BE AUTHENTIC
The first and most important step in talking about your startup culture is to be authentic. Don’t try to sugarcoat or exaggerate to make it seem more appealing - they’ll see right through it once they join. Be honest, or you’re risking hiring people who are not right for you or losing the right ones very quickly.
USE real examples
When talking about your startup culture, use actual examples to illustrate your points. If you value teamwork, perhaps there was a project where your team excelled at reaching a common goal. If you value innovation, talk about a creative solution to a challenge you experienced and how the team solved it. By using specific examples, you’ll make your company culture feel more tangible and real to potential employees.
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If you want to attract talent, take the time to plan how you want to paint a compelling picture of your startup culture and then make sure that all interviewers take the time during the interview to deliver a consistent message with their own personal spin of course.
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Who we are
Offering personalised, consultative service, at TableCrowd Talent we’re a specialist recruitment agency with our finger on the pulse of the startup and scaleup scene. We are committed to matching graduates, professionals and C-level executives to exciting startup and scaleup jobs across London, the UK and Europe.
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