www.officeteam.com
FINDING THE RIGHT FIT: Nearly Half of Workers Have Misjudged an Employer’s Culture, Survey Shows
MENLO PARK, CA -- Everyone wants a job that suits his or her work style and personality, but a new survey shows it’s no easy task -- for job seekers or employers. Nearly half (46 percent) of administrative professionals said they have, at one time or another, misread a work environment. Similarly, 59 percent of human resource (HR) managers polled admitted having misjudged someone’s fit for a role. The vast majority (85 percent) of these managers also said their companies have lost an employee because he or she was not suited to the firm’s work environment.
The survey was developed by OfficeTeam, a leading staffing service specializing in the placement of highly skilled administrative professionals, in collaboration with the International Association of Administrative Professionals and HR.com. More than 300 administrative professionals and 400 HR managers took part in the study. The findings appear in Fitting In, Standing Out and Building Remarkable Work Teams, a resource guide produced for administrative professionals and managers.
Administrative professionals were asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed with the statement, “I’ve misjudged work environments in the past.” Their responses:
Somewhat disagree........................................... 21%
Strongly disagree................................................ 7%
Undecided........................................................... 26%
Somewhat disagree........................................... 22%
Strongly disagree................................................ 7%
Undecided........................................................... 12%
100%
Somewhat disagree........................................... 6%
Strongly disagree................................................ 3%
Undecided........................................................... 6%
100%
Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam, pointed out that the interview is a prime opportunity for job seekers to assess whether the organization is a fit, and vice versa. “The interview is a two-way street,” she said. “Employers are looking for clues to an applicant’s work ethic and personality, and job seekers want to learn more about the company culture.”
To help job applicants and hiring managers make the right match, OfficeTeam suggests asking the following questions during the employment interview.
Job Seekers
What is it like to work at your company?
What skills and attributes are needed to be successful in this role?
What characteristics does your company value most in its employees?
How do you define success at your company?
How is good performance measured and rewarded?
Hiring Managers
What type of work environment brings out your best performance?
What type of work environment are you least likely to thrive in?
What did you like best/least about your last job and why?
Considering your greatest accomplishments in previous roles, what were the factors that allowed you to be successful?
OfficeTeam is the world’s leading staffing service specializing in the temporary placement of highly skilled administrative and office support professionals. The company has more than 300 locations worldwide and offers online job search services at www.officeteam.com.
The International
Association of Administrative Professionals is the world’s largest association
for administrative support staff, with nearly 600 chapters and approximately
40,000 members and affiliates worldwide. For more information,
visit www.iaap-hq.org.
HR.com is the largest social network and online community of HR executives. For more information, visit www.hr.com.
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