• • • TRAINING • • •
Culture is key – how to ensure the right fit
Growing your electrical team can be incredibly exciting. It means bringing fresh talent into the business and increasing your capacity, so you can delight more customers with your services. However, it’s crucial your new hire is the right cultural fit for your business. Mick Fitzgerald, director at Options Skills, discusses the importance of cultural fit when growing your team and gives his top tips for getting it right
or any business, culture is key. It’s what sets the precedent for the way you work. With 90% of UK employers saying it’s important that candidates have the right cultural fit, it’s clear that this should be a key part of growing your business. Your new team members need to fit in with the existing culture of your electrical business to help you continue to grow.
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Have you ever hired someone because they had the right experience and training, but then found that something wasn’t quite right? Despite 87% of employers offering induction to new team members on business culture, sometimes the team member simply isn’t aligned with it. In small electrical teams, culture is even more important because employees often work closely together on a daily basis. Your team needs to get on with each other well in order to do their job properly, as this allows for open communication and successful teamwork – key components for any electrical project. Your culture will also influence your service and the way you work with your customers, and that needs to be consistent, no matter which member of your team is carrying out the job.
HIRING FOR CULTURAL FIT
Hiring for cultural fit is about recruiting team members who will integrate well into your business, and adopt the core values and overall behaviours that give your electrical business its own personality. It doesn’t mean hiring people who are identical to one another – it means growing your business by hiring someone who can bring a positive influence and something new that compliments the team you’ve already built. For example, if you currently have a young team, and you’re interviewing an older candidate who is
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returning to the workplace after retraining in electrics, you may think they won’t fit into your current culture. However, this candidate may be able to bring an abundance of knowledge and general life and work experience, which could make a substantial difference to your business. Just because a candidate doesn’t ‘look’ like other members of the team, doesn’t mean they won’t uphold the same values.
WHAT ARE THE KEY CHARACTERISTICS TO LOOK OUT FOR?
Each electrical business has a different culture, so the strategy for hiring a good cultural fit varies. However, here are some key characteristics you can look out for to determine if someone is the right fit for your growing business: • Investment in growth – is this candidate taking clear steps to progress on their career path? Maybe they have recently completed additional electrical training, or perhaps they have recently retrained as an electrician through a traineeship and funded their own training. Take some time to ask the candidate about how they see their career progressing, and the steps they are taking to reach their goals. This will help you to understand whether they’re ambitious and committed to personal growth in your business. • Willingness to learn – are they keen to develop existing skills and learn new ones? Ask the candidate about the kind of training and support they may value if they were to be a member of your team. If they show interest in developing their skillset, they are likely to make a reliable team member. This is especially important as electric guidelines and standards continue to evolve. • Interest in the trade – does the candidate
see the job as simply a way to earn money, or are they passionate about electrics? You could ask them why they are interested in electrics and why they chose to pursue this particular career path. • Understanding of your current culture – ensure to share your current culture with your candidates and allow them to show an understanding of your this. You could ask them to share stories of times they have embodied a particular value.
EXPERIENCE VS WILLINGNESS - THE IMPACT OF EXPERIENCE
When hiring for the right cultural fit, try to look beyond experience alone. A lack of experience doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of willingness to learn or an inability to fit in with your business’ culture. For example, let’s say you’re choosing between
Candidate A and Candidate B, and your culture is all about teamwork and collaboration. Candidate A has lots of experience, but likes to work alone. Candidate B has only just finished their initial centre led training and is working towards their NVQ Level 3 Electrical Training qualification, but has a clear willingness to learn and really enjoys working in a team. In this scenario, Candidate B is likely the best option for your business, as they will easily fit into the culture of teamworking and they are already displaying a clear commitment to learn and grow by investing in their own electrical training. Ultimately, previous experience is a key part of
the hiring process, but willingness to learn and the right cultural fit shouldn’t be overlooked, as these will often prove to be more important in the long-term.
OPTIONS SKILLS
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ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • JULY/AUGUST 2021 21
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