Culture Fit

Anonymous

April 4,2023 at 4:55PM UTC

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Culture Fit

At my current company, I'm realizing that it is not a good cultural fit for me. Understand that good talent is hard to find but fear of losing employees is causing downstream impacts that is bleeding into what I was hired to do. There are moments that I cringe on practices that are not exactly illegal but alarms my moral compass, lack of accountability, known but nothing is done about it for fear of losing talent, constant firedrills and operating in reactive mode because an employee wants to resign, and compliance issues are overlooked just to retain that one employee, except it happens over and over again.

I know every company has its quirks but this company's practices make my stomach queasy. Don't think I've experienced this level of an inner conflict. Yes there have been questionable practices in my past companies but not to this degree. It's intentional ignorance instilled by fear of loss of talent.

Have I been living under a rock for all my career or is this is something I will potentially experience elsewhere? How can I check for something like this during an interview as I think about the potential to need to move on? Please help me with perspectives. Thank you.

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AnonymousApril 4,2023 at 6:49PM UTC
I just turned down 2 six figure job offers because the culture was severely off... the one you described above is almost verbatim the one I just turned down. Kinda got the chills; lol. The one prior - the owner was literally insane and had "lost" 5 in my position prior. How's that for a sign of the times! I wish I had an answer... all I can say is that EVERY TIME I went against my gut - I regretted it. I will say that - healthy culture starts at the top and cascades down and if the company has lost it's leadership compass for one reason or another... something is amiss.
AnonymousApril 4,2023 at 6:53PM UTC
This is instinctively clear if you parse through what is not said.
It's reading the room and the person interviewing you. I have a radar for inauthentic people and for situations that are masquerading as one thing abd are actually something quite different. The descriptions used to described a work culture will not ring true. Even when they are stellar. It's a gut thing I calculate in body language, environment markers and wording. There are a mountain of books written on the subject but I just feel it.
Chesay ColsonApril 4,2023 at 7:46PM UTC
Unfortunately, this is something that can experience no matter where you go in lesser or greater degrees. Cultural fit is essential to satisfying work experience. I've found myself several times with organizations that weren't a good cultural fit for the reasons you expressed. If you haven't prepared an exit strategy for yourself, please start now.
Review your transferable skills, upskill your experience, and begin curiosity conversations with employees at organizations that will be a better fit for you. Finding a better work environment is possible, but keep in mind all organizations will have their issues.
AnonymousApril 4,2023 at 11:16PM UTC
I'm not sure how you could broach this topic in an interview, but this is not uncommon in large for-profit companies struggling to keep their shareholders happy. It is also possible in non-profit and government agencies, so in these places, ask them which ethics standard they use. Some will use "Social Work," ACA, NOHS, clergy, or HIPAA. Those standards are easy to find via Google.
Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistApril 5,2023 at 3:18AM UTC
Are you sure it's a fear of losing employees and not someone being afraid to make a decision and pull the trigger to either put that employee on a PIP or fire them? To hold them accountable? Those are not the same things.
There are ways you can drill down around those sorts of issues in interviews - what does accountability look like here? How is success measured? Tell me about the situation around the last person you had to let someone go.
I'd figure out exactly what the issue is first.
AnonymousApril 6,2023 at 1:03PM UTC
This just happened to me, only worse. I was expected to withhold honesty, and there was a culture, from the CEO, skipping me, to frontliners to target an individual employee he didn't like. I could not tolerate this aspect of the culture, and other things. The "team environment" and all the input, freedoms, etc. promised in an authentic matter did not add up to the autocracy I was facing.
Alexie ShawApril 6,2023 at 1:27PM UTC
inexperienced leadership, you can definitely route this out by asking the right questions about leadership at interview / offer stage
Venise VinegarApril 6,2023 at 2:25PM UTC
Yes, a culture fit IS something you will potentially experience everywhere. Every work environment has a culture. Company mission statements are helpful; however, they don't guarantee that the employees hired are the best fit match for the company mission statement and therein lies the challenge.
AnonymousApril 6,2023 at 5:17PM UTC
No you have not been living under a rock. Companies whose ethics don't align with yours are clearly not the place for you as it's super clear to this reader that you have a conscience and value honesty and integrity. Ask the tough questions as you interview elsewhere. Find out how they deal with conflict, what did they do the last time a person stepped out of line, what specifically do they do to retain their talent. Give them some behavioral examples of what you are living in now - without disclosing that and see how they would respond. You will know quickly whether you are walking into the same train wreck or not. Look at blind, and linkedin see how many people are leaving, check tenure. Find out why the role is open and if its a replacement why did the person leave or fail. Keep being excellent the right employer will be thrilled to have you.