For the Job Seeker: Navigating Corporate Culture

After being out of work for a couple months, Todd was happy to land a position with a major corporation and was eager to begin his new assignment. Todd was also a smart systems analyst with an enviable track record of proven accomplishment at his previous employer. Through no fault of his own, Todd had been caught up in a down-sizing where his whole department was cut - from the Vice President on down to the junior support analyst. Todd had been with that company for four years and had felt at home there. He knew how to get things done in an effective and efficient manner. He knew the right way to do things.

Only a couple days into his new assignment, he saw how messed up things were at his new company. He couldn’t believe they actually functioned the way they did. He was determined to set things right and implement procedures and processes that he knew would work. On his first deliverable, he decided to change the format of the system requirements document to be more in line with industry standards. He added a couple sections and took out a couple sections that were part of the format. He thought his boss would be pleased at his initiative. He thought wrong. His boss got an earful from the developers about how Todd’s document left out some important criteria. Now they were behind schedule on their development project. Todd explained that he improved the document to comply with industry accepted best practices! All of that fell on deaf ears. Even the other systems analysts did not back up Todd who went away from his meeting with his boss feeling dejected.

Did Todd do anything wrong here? Or was his new company simply resistant to change? Could this scenario have turned out differently? What if Todd approached the developers and other systems analysts first to understand why they were using a particular document format? Todd’s experience is but one of many examples of a new employee failing to understand the culture of their new organization. What is corporate culture? Deal and Kennedy in their book, Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life, define corporate culture simply as "the way things get done around here". There is a large diversity in cultures which can make transitioning from one organization to another rather stressful for anybody. On top of learning the names of your colleagues, you have to assess "the way things get done" because it will undoubtedly be different than your previous organization. In some organizations that are highly hierarchical (i.e. there is a very defined structure which is closely followed), decisions are made by the boss with little input from those further down the hierarchy. In other organizations with a flat structure, decisions may be dispersed and receive a greater degree of input from employees. Another way to look at the diversity of corporate cultures is through feedback. Some cultures provide a quick, non-punitive feedback which results in quicker adjustments to decisions. Other organizations may have a much slower feedback loop which is more punitive in nature - so if you mess up, it is a BIG deal and there is little opportunity to recover. This forces a different decision making process.

What can the job seeker do to evaluate the culture of their prospective employer? Here are a couple strategies: If you have a contact that you already know at the company, they can be an invaluable source of information on "how things get done". These are some questions to ask to get a sense of the culture:

Describe a typical workday for you.

Tell me about a time where you introduced something new, i.e. a new procedure or process or new way of doing things. How did you do that and how did it go. Was this adopted by the organization or was there resistance?

How are decisions typically made?

What kind of feedback do you get, and how quickly, on the decisions that are made?

How much freedom do you have to take risk? Can you give me an example of a risk that succeeded or that failed and what was the outcome?

The other strategy that you can use, and the only other effective strategy if you do not otherwise have a contact within the prospective organization, is to ask questions during the interview. A typical interviewer will often invite the job candidate to ask questions which is your opening to peak through the window of their culture. With some appropriate modification, ask questions similar to the ones above. Also, while you are at the corporate offices, be observant. Do senior level managers have big offices with the doors often closed? That is indicative of a more hierarchical organization than an organization where the senior managers are in cubes along with the other employees which is indicative of a flat and more open culture. You might also get some clues about an organization’s culture through articles or stories in the media - particularly understanding tolerance for risk. Stories that celebrate a particular risk that pays off indicate an above average tolerance.

Don’t ignore the question of corporate culture since your ability to adapt and thrive within it is a key determinant to your success in your new position. Understanding the culture ahead of time and understanding what you are getting into by doing research and asking questions will be time well spent. Remember, your prospective employer is not just interviewing you, but you are interviewing them and it is important for your own satisfaction that you join an organization where you feel you can be a good fit and make a contribution.