Company culture determines how you’ll be treated and how you’ll spend your time. You’ll be at this company for at least a couple of years, and ideally longer. During that time, you’ll spend a good chunk of your week working, getting ready for work, or thinking about work. As such, you want to make sure you learn what you can about the company culture during the hiring process. 

What the Corporate Values Are

The first thing you’ll learn from HR about company culture during the hiring process are the values of the company. While HR departments serve a lot of different functions, including running HR analytics and completing paperwork, they also usually support the CEO or owner. Think about it: the company either creates an HR department to work for it or outsources to an HR PEO that can manage those functions for them. 

That reality means the attitudes, personalities, and values of the people you’re meeting with during the hiring process likely reflect those of the company. How the HR people make you feel will give you a sense of how you should feel working for and at the company. You can also ask your HR representative directly about things like the company’s mission, vision, and values during the hiring process to get specific answers. 

How Employee Relations Work

To take the values discussion a step further, HR can tell you about employee relations within a company. Because the HR department is largely responsible for resolving conflict, reprimands, rewards, and reviews, they may even work with employees more closely than some supervisors. They’ll know the company’s policies on things like bullying, exclusions, and winner versus loser mentalities. 

In some companies, a few employees excel and everyone else is looked down upon. Ask about this phenomenon during your interview. You can do this with questions about opportunities for advancement, desk placement, special treatment, and more. Pay close attention to the answers. A company with clear expectations for equal treatment will employ an HR department that can explain them to you.

How Leisure and Leave Time Is Treated

Lots of companies and corporations offer leave and leisure time, or sick and vacation pay. However, there are many of those that discourage employees from actually taking that time off. Employees who call in sick are questioned or shamed for taking their sick time. Parents with new children are encouraged to come back before their leave is up. And employees are even rewarded for not taking their vacation time. 

Indeed, 55% of employees don’t take full advantage of their company’s PTO (paid time off) benefits, despite the data showing how critical it is to mental and physical health. It’s important to ask about the company’s attitude toward PTO during the hiring process. These benefits are part of your total salary, so if you short yourself, or are shorted by your company, you are losing money. Never mind the fact that your mental and physical health may suffer.

How Inclusive the Organization Is

Like with PTO, many companies have diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. They may even have an entire DEI department. The problem is that when you look at the actual structure of the roles within some companies, you’ll find an obvious pattern. People of color, women, and people with different abilities all make up the lower, entry-level positions. The higher you climb the corporate ladder, the less diverse it gets. 

During the hiring process, ask about not only DEI but also how employees are promoted from within. Does this business have a lot of diversity in upper management, on the board, and in executive positions? The answer to this question will tell you more than just who gets hired. It will also tell you who gets the attention that leads to promotions and advancement. HR is likely the most equipped department to see these numbers from a broad perspective. 

How Important Learning and Development Are

Speaking of promotions and advancement, most employees say they want more training. In fact, many say they’re planning to leave for lack of learning and development. Progress is one of the essential keys to happiness, and, considering you spend so much time at work, of course you want to make progress there. At work, it comes in the form of training, education, classes, and certifications. 

A great company, and a great HR department, will have plans in place for the learning and development of their employees. They know that engaged employees create a better company culture and lead to better success outcomes in the workplace. As a result, they’ll have training programs for every level of employment at the company, preparing their people to rise from within, stay satisfied, and stay loyal. So, make sure to ask about their L&D programs. 

Ultimately, you want to love the place you work. It doesn’t always play out that way, but you can certainly do your best to gain as much information about your potential employer as possible. And you can do this during the hiring process, with the HR department. After all, this department will be the one to help you with your future advancements, training, and any conflict resolution. You may as well get to know them, and their values, well now.