When in Sydney for the LinkedIn Forward Event, Nadene and Steve had the chance to listen to Caroline Wanga, current Chief Executive Officer of Essence Communications, and former Chief Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Target.
And wasn’t it amazing. The only disappointing thing was that they couldn’t write fast enough to get down everything that was said because it was one of those times when you wanted to. So, although we have pages of notes, the main message we walked away with was,
“Who you are is non-negotiable"
Ooft.
We’ll pull this apart and analyse it, but we also loved Caroline’s other message which was
“If you can’t be who you are where you are, change where you are, not who you are”
The seminar was amazing, but you might be wondering why LinkedIn would have Caroline there as a guest speaker. Apart from her colourful suit (which we now want) and the knowledge she had to share, the key messages were so relevant to the audience.
Why? Because the room consisted mostly of recruiters. And Caroline describes recruiters as the caretakers of the workforce.
On an individual level, there’s so much to take away from both quotes. But as recruiters and people within leadership positions, there’s even more weight behind it.
When in these roles or positions, you can be seen to be in charge of individuals “where”. This means that you have the ability to determine and influence an environment that people work within. And it becomes your responsibility to create the most positive and encouraging environment you can, to give people the best experiences in the hope it positively affects their work.
But saying this, Caroline also touched on the fact that you must expect people to leave. It’s natural for people to want and seek progression and change, and with the notion that you’re in charge of individuals “where” in mind, it can be seen in your best interest to create an environment where you are producing talent but also creating a place where people want to stay, for as long as they like.
This then means that it is our job as recruiters to ensure that we are placing people in the right “where” that suits their “who”.
We are then in charge of matching a person's "who” to a workplace that complements them. And it is our job to ensure candidates can be themselves wherever they are employed because who you are is non-negotiable. See what we did here?
On this, it is important to highlight that you should feel comfortable in your workplace while having the ability to shine in your own way. Given you’re technically fit for the role, a workplace should be able to accept and accommodate who you are, with the assumption that you have a positive input to the team.
At Eight, we know that cultural fit is almost just as important as technical, especially as the workforce develops. Within our own processes, this is something we make sure to align throughout the recruitment process because we know that people succeed in a role where they don't have to alter themselves to fit in.
If you’re an individual who might be open to a new role where you can find an environment like this, contact the office at info@eightrecruitment.com.au or on 02 4069 0880.
Or if you’re looking for new team members and value cultural fit just as much as technical, give Nadene a call on 0432 124 418 or email nadene@eightrecruitment.com.au to have a chat.
You can also view Caroline Wanga’s LinkedIn profile through this link 👇