Talent acquisition (TA) teams are delivering more than they have ever needed to before. Although the volume of requisitions may have momentarily declined, the demands put upon the function continue to increase. In what can often be an intense working environment, cultivating and safeguarding a positive culture is paramount. In a recent survey, 2 out of 5 (38%) of employees blamed a poor company culture as the main reason they would be willing to quit their job without another opportunity lined up.

Consider that for a moment. A swift (albeit hypothetical) 40% reduction of manpower within your hiring team is alarming, to say the least. What’s more alarming is that still, following years of discussions and reports to change the narrative, a negative culture within the team or organization in general, is one of the biggest reasons that great talent walks out the door. Equally, it’s also the reason you’ll fail to attract quality candidates to replace those you lose. What’s more, it’s (thankfully) increasingly difficult to keep a toxic culture hushed up for long anymore, not with the emergence of sites such as Glassdoor or Fishbowl. And nor should it be covered up. Working to transform the culture within your team and organization is far more constructive for all.

If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that we can’t ever be sure what is around the corner, whether in life or business. But a strong company culture can see you through even the worst of times. According to a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) report, how well your workforce handled the COVID-19 pandemic had a lot to do with its culture. That’s because a strong company culture creates resilient teams, and resilient teams are going to be key to weathering the current climate, and beyond.

Consequently, protecting those precious internal resources by developing a strong culture, is vitally important. It’s become increasingly evident that one of the fundamental pillars of a positive culture is continued learning and development, and we aren’t just talking about an obligatory annual course to tick a few HR boxes. To truly embrace learning and development (L&D), it runs much deeper than that and is, in fact, woven throughout the entire fabric of the organization.

Not quite sure how you weave L&D through your TA team’s culture? Use our crib sheet below as an at-a-glance guide to get you started.

Cultivating a Strong and Positive Culture

Sharing is Caring
Collaboration is key when it comes to creating a strong culture, and a collaborative learning culture could unlock the perennial problem that all managers face at one time or another—budget. Instead of thinking of learning as an individual, or isolated experience, incorporating a collaborative learning culture encourages the sharing of intel between all team members and managers. This training methodology encourages employees to share their knowledge and expertise, teaching and learning from one another at the same time.

Top Tip: Failure to prepare, is preparing to fail. Level up by fixing regular dates in the dairy that affords the time for meaningful collaborative learning. Send out details ahead of time what the learning topics are and give everyone fair time to question and comprehend their peers’ teachings.

AI For Enablement
If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to embrace the tech and view it as an enabler, not an inhibitor. As overwhelming as it might seem, AI should be an aid to your team’s efficiency and productivity, not a barrier. A report from MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group discovered that 8 out of 10 (79%) respondents who reported efficiency and decision improvements because of AI also saw improvements across four key cultural elements: collaboration, collective learning, clarity of roles and team morale. Underused technologies, or those that aren’t used to their full potential, can cause frustrations and disappointment, so learning how to use them correctly from the start is critical for success.

Birds of a Feather
A sum of a team with a shared goal is stronger than the individuals alone. But working together in the same team doesn’t automatically ascertain an alliance. If you want everyone to be on the same page, they need to feel comfortable with one another, and supportive of each other. This starts from the top down. Leaders that show vulnerability gain trust and among team members that trickles into other areas such as engagement and productivity.

Top Tip: Check-ins for the wins. Encourage an environment where your team can share stories that aren’t work related with regular ‘check-ins’. Lead by example and jump right in! The more you and your team can learn about each other, the closer the shared vision will be. Workplace friendships can have an enormously positive impact on culture, so keep up the comms! NB. Always be respectful of people’s boundaries. Allow them to decide how comfortable they are with sharing information.

Best Practices Are Best for All
Avoid confusion or doubt by developing processes where everyone knows the right way to do something. When everyone follows the same set of guidelines, we automatically reduce friction and that opportunity for conflict. Practically, this might mean revaluating your current set-up to determine if you could be doing things better. Are your processes as efficient as they could be? Are they cost-effective or a drain on your budget, for which you no longer feel the benefit? When was the last time your TA processes were put under the spotlight? Would they stand up to the scrutiny of being DE&I appropriate for example? Or is it time to upskill and lean into more contemporary, inclusive TA methodologies?

The Future’s Bright
You don’t need a crystal ball to know that without clear options and career paths talented individuals will leave, sooner rather than later. With that, you’ll very likely see a domino effect in which peers follow. Before long negativity sets in, and with it, a sharp decline in productivity and employee engagement. It soon becomes an uphill struggle to regain a company culture that will retain the talent you have, let alone attract newcomers.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, it couldn’t be simpler to avoid! Put yourself in your team’s shoes. What do they need from you and the business to stay? What might be their next role and are they aware of all the options available to them. Where can they see themselves in the company in 2 years or even 5 years? What training and development opportunities do they have to enable them to grow into their future self?

Allow them to learn about their career path options and give them the ambition to grow within the company. If they can’t see a place for them with you, they will find it elsewhere. Become development and future oriented by providing continued professional development that benefits at both a company and individual level.

Reframing Culture

Building a strong culture within your function and throughout the business is not a new concept. And yet many companies, large and small, struggle to truly define, develop and crucially, maintain a culture that top talent strives to join.

We assumed that people wanted ping-pong tables and pizza Friday’s—and for a while that worked. But much like using sticking plasters to mend a leaky bucket, they weren’t the panacea we hoped for. If needs aren’t being met at a base level, frivolous perks are meaningless. Continued training and development increases job satisfaction, provides skills and career advancements opportunities, and by enabling your team to be better at what they do, increases confidence too.

This is how we overcome the culture challenge. This is how we retain and attract top talent.