Four Ways to Use Your Core Values to Attract and Hire Great People

Companies running on EOS® know that articulating and communicating your Core Values is essential to getting the right people in the right seats to help you achieve your vision. That’s because these values define the characteristics that you want every single person in the company to share so you can build the culture you want in your company. 

In each Quarterly Session, when reviewing the Core Values on the V/TO™ with my clients, I always ask, “Are these the right core values? And are you using them to hire, fire, review, reward, and recognize people?” The answers I get reveal that while most EOS companies are faithfully using the People Analyzer™ to evaluate their existing employees, many struggle with how to integrate the core values in the hiring process. 

In general, I recommend that my clients focus on infusing core values into two specific areas in the hiring process:

1. Attracting Talent - Marketing your company’s values to attract applicants that want to work in a culture like yours
2. Evaluating Candidates - Confirming that the applicants share and exhibit your core values

Attracting Talent by Marketing Your Core Values and Culture

In today’s competitive job market, it’s getting harder and harder to attract and build a pipeline of high-quality candidates. In order to attract the Right People to your team, consider showcasing your values when marketing open positions. For example:

1. Create a standard blurb highlighting your values - use it in every job posting, on the Careers page of your website, and in your employer profile pages on job sites.

The culture at Acme Corporation is built on our shared core values - Positive collaboration, Proactive problem-solving, and Relentless curiosity. Positive collaboration means that we work together and make decisions for the greater good - with open, honest, and respectful communication. Proactive problem-solving means that we come to the table with ideas, recommendations, and solutions - instead of sitting back and waiting for others to raise an issue or fix a problem for us. Relentless curiosity means that we continually strive to improve, learn, and grow by asking questions, seeking knowledge, and stretching beyond our comfort zone. 

We hire, fire, review, reward, and recognize our teammates based on these characteristics, so it's important that you share these values in order to be part of our team.

2. Create a video highlighting your core values and culture - use it on your Careers or About Us page to showcase your leaders and team members talking about how your core values define your culture. For example:

• Total Security Solutions produced this short video to showcase their values to potential employees:  

• Choice Recovery created short videos for each of their values – Love, Distinct and Deeply Connected, and Personal Responsibility – and are sharing them with candidates to help them understand the kind of culture they have created in the company.

Evaluate Candidates Based on Your Core Values

1. Create values-based interview questions - Create a standard set of questions for all of your hiring managers to use to evaluate whether the candidate shares your values. In the example above, Acme Corporation is looking for people who share the core value of Relentlessly Curious. They might ask candidates, “Tell me about three new skills you’ve taught yourself in the last year.” Consult with an HR professional for guidance, or search for “Values-Based Interview Questions” in your favorite browser, and you’ll find lots of examples! 
2. Deliver your Core Values Speech to candidates - Make sure your hiring managers know your Core Values Speech and can deliver it passionately to candidates to attract the right people, and deter people who don't share them. 

One EOS Company has the Visionary do this in the final interview - basically, he says, "If you don't share these core values, you're not going to make it here. This is our culture - if you don't think you'll fit, it's better if you decide right now not to join our team - because we will eventually find out if you don't and then we will decide for you." While that may seem harsh, it’s been quite effective for setting expectations about culture and behavior with new hires, and there’s no guilt from leaders when someone needs to be terminated due to a core values violation or mismatch.

Of course, there are many other great ways to integrate core values into your hiring process. Start with these fundamentals, and then experiment until you find what works best for you and your company.

Next Steps: 

• Download a copy of the EOS V/TO™ to help you clarify, simplify, and achieve your vision.
• Unlock the EOS Toolbox to download a copy of the People Analyzer™ 
• Watch EOS Founder Gino Wickman describe the 8 Questions Your Leadership Team Should Answer to help you clarify your company vision