I recently started to work with a hospitality giant in Scotland. Last week I wrote a blog that originated from something a member of their People Team said during one of my trainings to their leadership teams. Her words told me a lot about the culture that was being created in the setting.
When I work with any client, I make a point of ensuring I experience their culture. Whether it’s asking for directions from a member of staff or simply saying good morning to a passing individual, I get a feel for the people I’m working with. As we often say in policing, “Every Contact Leaves A Trace”
Recently, during a visit there, I was speaking to a relatively new leader. They had only been on post for a matter of months. During our conversation, they told me something that really stayed with me. Despite only joining the company a few months ago, he felt like he had been there much longer. Why? Simply because he had been welcomed warmly by everyone.
He wasn’t talking about his induction, the systems he had learned or the amount of time he had spent in the organisation. He was talking about people. In that simple observation lies an important lesson for organisations trying to build healthy cultures.
Recruiting the right people matters. But how the whole welcomes them, what is modelled, and what we give them permission to do matters just as much.
Culture is what people experience
Organisations spend enormous amounts of time developing values, behaviours and cultural statements. Whilst important, they only become meaningful when they are translated into everyday behaviour. A new employee doesn’t experience an organisation through its strategy document. They experience it through the colleague who shows them around, the manager who listens to them, the team that includes them and the person who notices when they need help. Culture is experienced in the small moments.
A welcome.
A conversation.
A question.
An invitation to join the team.
A colleague saying: “Don’t worry, we’ve all been new here.”
These moments communicate something powerful: “You belong here. You matter here. We want you to succeed here.”
That is why recruitment matters. The people we bring into our organisations become part of the environment in which everyone else works.
The people we recruit shape culture
Recruitment is often viewed primarily as finding people with the right qualifications, experience and technical skills. Of course, those things matter but what about the behaviours people bring with them? Do they understand the importance of teamwork? Can they show compassion? Are they willing to help others? Can they accept feedback? Do they understand that their behaviour affects the people around them? And perhaps most importantly, do they recognise that creating a healthy culture is everybody’s responsibility?
There is an important caveat here. Recruiting the “right people” should never mean recruiting people who simply fit an existing culture. If the existing culture tolerates poor behaviour, recruiting people who fit in may simply reinforce the problem. We should instead look for people who can contribute positively, challenge constructively and help make the culture better, and mean it
A warm welcome is more than good manners
When someone joins a new workplace, they are often trying to answer a series of questions:
Will I fit in?
Will people help me?
Can I ask questions?
Will I be accepted?
Can I be myself?
Will I be listened to?
These questions matter because they influence how people engage with their work and colleagues. Research into organisational socialisation has long highlighted the importance of how new employees learn the norms, relationships and expectations of their workplace. They are not simply learning a job. They are learning how things are done around here. Much of that learning comes from observing others. If they see colleagues helping one another, treating people with respect and welcoming new arrivals, they receive a clear message. This is how we behave.
If they see bullying ignored, inappropriate comments laughed off, or people excluded from the group, they receive a very different message. This is what is tolerated. I firmly believe that in a culture where people feel unable to speak up, is where a journey of poor wellbeing begins. Simply put, moral injury and trauma occur when you feel unable to be yourself. Every welcome is therefore a cultural message. Every interaction teaches what matters in this workplace.
One good employee can make a difference
We often hear about the damage one bad employee can do.
One person can undermine trust.
One person can normalise poor behaviour.
One person can make others feel uncomfortable.
But the opposite is also true: one person can help create a healthier environment.
One person can welcome a new colleague.
One person can notice when someone is struggling.
One person can challenge a harmful comment.
One person can encourage someone else to speak up.
One person can make it easier for another person to do the right thing.
This is where active bystandership becomes important. We sometimes talk about bystanders as people who witness something wrong but active bystandership is also about recognising opportunities to make a positive difference. The colleague who welcomes the new starter is contributing to culture. The colleague who checks in on someone who seems isolated is contributing to culture. The colleague who says, “That’s not okay,” is contributing to culture. These actions may appear small. But cultures are built through repeated behaviour.
What if recruitment included responsibility?
Perhaps recruitment should not only ask: “What skills and experience do you bring?” Perhaps we should also ask: “What kind of colleague do you want to be?” That changes the conversation. It makes culture personal. It moves beyond policies and into responsibility.
We should look for people who understand that a workplace is not simply somewhere they come to do a job. It is a community of people whose behaviour affects one another. It’s a community where relationships matter.
That doesn’t mean expecting people to be perfect. It means looking for people who are willing to learn, accept feedback and contribute positively. People who understand that difficult conversations can be had. That support matters and that looking out for colleagues isn’t somebody else’s responsibility.
Leaders create the conditions
Recruiting the right people is only part of the answer. Even the most positive new employee can be influenced by the culture they enter. If an organisation rewards poor behaviour, ignores concerns or fails to support those who speak up, good intentions can quickly disappear. This is where leadership matters.
Leaders are not simply responsible for delivering tasks. As I have written about before, they are architects of the environment in which people work. They are the architects of culture.
Leaders influence what is noticed, what is rewarded and what is challenged. They can create an environment where asking for help is encouraged and raising a concern is not seen as disloyal. They can reinforce a simple message: “Around here, we look out for each other.” That message is only powerful when people see it being lived.
The welcome is only the beginning
The new member of staff who told me he felt like he had been there much longer had experienced something valuable. He had experienced belonging. Social connection is a protective factor for all humans. We thrive when we feel connected. Connection is a form of therapy, and therefore every positive interaction becomes a dose of therapy. A good counterbalance for any high-stress workplace.
The challenge for organisations is to ensure that feeling continues long after the first few months. A warm welcome should become ongoing support. A friendly introduction should become genuine connection, and a positive first impression should become a consistent experience.
Recruitment isn’t simply about filling vacancies. It is about bringing people into a community.
When we recruit people who care about others, welcome them well and permit them to make a difference, we don’t just fill jobs.
We build culture.
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