A dear old friend of mine wrote to me today and reminded me that distance from friends and family means they keep up with me via things like my blog, Facebook and Twitter. So when I have times like I have had lately, when my small team is short staffed, there is never enough time to write. Which also means there is a backlog of ideas that I would like to share and get your thoughts on but somehow never seem to actually touch keys to keyboard. Know what I mean?
So here I am, honoring her gentle nudge and making the room to write.
I’m fortunate that after months of searching, my team and I have found a new program manager. We get to have a new set of skills and experience to add to our small team. It gives us the ability to add even more value to our organization and delve deeper into understanding our customer experience. I believe passionately in the service we provide to the business. I love being able spend my days thinking about our customers. Part of the search for a new team member means finding someone who has a similar passionate view.
What’s most interesting to me about this process is how important company culture fit is to the discussion. How many times have you been on an interview (or interviewed candidates) and found the focus being all on skills and experience – with little or none on that important “fit”? That fit is more than just do you like this person and think you can work well with them. It’s an important concept because I don’t want it confused with homogenisation. Having diversity is equally key. So how do you define your company or team culture? How do you find that right fit for your team?
Our way was thoughtful, open discussion and decision consensus across the interviewers. What works for you? What hasn’t worked for you?