Hi and welcome to Culture Matters!
I’m Jillian Klein and I’m the SVP of People and #Success here at DLC Management. As a workplace culture-obsessed professional with 15 years of HR/Recruiting experience, I wanted to start a blog to share my expertise and insights to a broader audience. Culture Matters focuses on various topics that relate to workplace culture and offers tips and tricks for both talent and companies to find and create the most positive, engaging, productive, rewarding teammate experience. I hope you enjoy it!
Why Culture Matters & Finding out what’s right for you
Five years ago I left a job that I loved. I didn’t have a choice, my company was acquired and most of us had to move on. I had 4 months to figure it all out- what did I want to do next? Where did I want to be? As an HR professional you can really go anywhere- HR is needed in all industries and I was fortunate enough to have experienced different companies in various industries. The company I left was in Real Estate but I realized it wasn’t the industry that made the difference for me- it was the culture.
Culture is the very foundation of an organization. Culture matters. Culture matters because it attracts talent. Culture matters because it retains teammates. Culture matters because it impacts teammate happiness and engagement. Culture matters because it affects performance.
I was disappointed to have to leave this company and the group of people I worked so closely with for 5 years. Finding a new position where I would be just as happy didn’t seem possible. I started an active search and looked for companies that focused on people and culture first. But I had to be careful because a lot of places give lip service to culture but it isn’t a focus in practice.
How can you tell if a company culture is right for you?
Do your research.
Look at the company’s website- is the culture highlighted there? Look at job descriptions for all open positions- is culture emphasized there? Check their social media posts. Does the company describe in detail what they do to build a culture and promote wellness and enrichment?
Get the scoop.
Talk to people you know who work there; talk to people you know in the industry; ask how they would define the culture.
Interview the interviewers.
Use the interview not only to share about yourself and why you are best for the role, but take the opportunity to ask them questions about the company culture. Ask every person you interview with the same culture question and see if there’s consistency in the answers.
Walk around the office.
Is it a lively environment with people interacting and collaborating? Do you see happy campers? Smiling faces? Do you see people collaborating and helping each other out?
I took my own advice when I was introduced to DLC Management. I “knew of” DLC Management because it was in the same space as my former company- owner-operators of retail shopping centers. That’s about all I knew- I didn’t know anything about the culture. I did thorough research. I talked to colleagues in the industry and colleagues I knew at DLC. I asked culture-focused questions to every single person I met with. I did a lap around the office to see if people truly seemed happy. DLC checked all of the boxes and I realized that this is the place for me. 5 years later and I’m still so happy I landed here.
