It is hard to come by the employer you want, and the culture you need as a professional. That has been an underestimated topic… like ever… You can find a job, sure you can. You fit the profile, salary is right, and the challenge is there. All together: Nice! But being really part of something that feels like a family… Now that’s something different.
My views on this as a new employee, and on a meta-level as well as my new employer LevelUp Ventures consults startups on Employer Branding and culture…
Value generation & culture
Organizations, in general, strive towards value generation. This can be less or more market-driven. Especially when you set different sectors apart like health care and (traditional) agency recruitment. Within health care, it’s all about people (No shit, Sherlock!). Funded by governmental institutions they lost sight, or never had, a vision upon market propositions of supply and demand. In general, they are personal and relational driven organizations. The well being of clients comes first and last.
Traditional agency recruitment, however, is overly market-driven. In the way it works within the market. But also in the manner people within this system view the candidates and clients they provide for. Let’s be creative and call candidates as well as clients what they represent: money bags.
The company only earns when a placement happens. And when candidates refuse, don’t respond or just are not placed, shit hits the fan. All the work was for nothing. The manager (who grew within the company by billables and not because of the people skills) looks at output and culture tends to be harsh. While within health care it tends to be too soft.
In short: always look at the way your (new) industry is making money; because you will feel the results of it.
My perspective on culture
I always had an interest in the human perspective on things. In general, this means that I like to listen to stories, history and what sets someone apart from others. On a professional and personal level, this intrigues me. Can’t help it, and really don’t want to either. I look at culture, choices and alike and allow intuition or gut feeling to lead me from there. The less hierarchy and horizontal structures (the more freedom) there is, the better I perform. I want to connect on a personal level with people, whether they are in the gas station, a candidate or a potential customer. Treat people the way they want to be treated, but why don’t treat them better… Above expectation?
And that is where adding value starts for me, as it works both ways. I will choose culture above salary any day, challenge above bonus and people above organizations. And above all, I will choose colleagues that fit my liking (as I hope to fit their liking as well).
In-house recruitment – finding the right cultural fit
The way LevelUp Ventures thinks about recruitment in adding value is like mine. We turn start-ups into hiring machines as we share knowledge with our partners, while we build their startup teams. We work in-house, so we get to know the culture (to make the fit), get to know our partner (and get to know them well). And we will add extra value by sharing knowledge we have and they need. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? We’re basically putting ourselves out of business every time. Well. Let’s look at it from an outsider perspective. One like mine, with a background in agency recruitment, and new to startups.
Never did I think about a way of adding value by sharing that much knowledge with our clients. Our database was our gold and our business was to create opportunities for people in that database. We would make money in keeping database, talent pipeline and know how to ourselves.
BTW: LevelUp is not a charity… We do get paid well for the value we add.
I’m new within the start-up world… But it’s that feeling you get… The one that makes a culture. It’s the people that create it. Both within LevelUp as well as the cool companies we work for. I’ll be honest. The salary here is not that exciting, but that has never been my key motivation. It’s the challenge and the culture within these companies that get me going! Maybe it’s yours as well.
So let’s be a part of something awesome, new & creative! I know I am!
Contemplate on this. Bye.
