Someone I met at the SHRM conference the other week really got me thinking about culture in the workplace. I think we often point to folks like Zappos or Google when we think of organizations with really distinct and killer cultures. But what about World Vision? How come no one talks about them when it comes to culture?
Okay, okay… bear with me for a moment. I know you’re not making the connection immediately, but let me help you out there. The notion of workplace culture hit home in a really big way when I met a young HR pro at the conference who recently joined World Vision. He was a complete stranger to me, but I was intrigued by him as a recent grad of an HR program from Central Washington University and he was just starting his career out as a comp analyst with World Vision. Did I know of them, World Vision, he asked?
Of course. Immediately, I thought of the commercials to sponsor a child. Beyond that though, when I used to live in the Seattle area, I shared that I actually remember World Vision as an employer and specifically, I remember seeing a job posting at some point for an HR related role that I thought seemed interesting… but I never put my hat in the ring because I couldn’t see myself working for such a religious organization and didn’t feel there was good alignment between what they believed and what I don’t believe. Not making the connection yet? Well, they are known as an evangelical relief organization. And their mission?
“To follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of God.”
Yep. So we got to talking about who they recruit and hire, how religious he was and what role religion played in their selection process and everyday culture. Talk about fascinating. Starting with… how does religion come up in the interview and selection process? He was asked – and they continue to ask all prospects – what I may find to be quite possibly the world’s most interesting interview question – ready for it? Brace yourself. I’d sit down for this one –
“When did you get to know the Lord, Jesus Christ, as your personal savior?”
BAM! Read that again! Yes. They ask that in their interviews. I’m uncomfortable just typing that question! (So immediately, on a practical level, your takeaway is to think about how do you assess cultural fit of candidates. Well, that’s one way. Crazy, right? I know.)
So then I began to wonder what the workplace is like. How much does religion play into day to day life at the office? A huge part, he shared. They start every morning of every work day with devotion time. They have weekly bible studies. And I’d venture to guess that whenever anyone sneezes at the office, everyone says, “God bless you.” Not just that short cut, knee-jerk reaction of, “Bless you.”
Totally fascinating. I only wish I had more time to spend with him to learn how religion may play into their policies and how they handle employee relations challenges. I mean imagine… what if someone committed a major policy violation, like let’s say… misuse of a corporate credit card. Or having an intimate relationship with a subordinate. Whether it’s a performance plan or termination, how do those scenarios play out? Do they make the employee ask for forgiveness? Do they pray for the employee in question? Are policies tied to the bible in any way? And I promise, I don’t even ask these questions facetiously. I’m genuinely curious. It’s a unique culture that we don’t often talk about.
And yet everyone talks about workplace culture. You’ve got folks like Zappos and Google who are blazing the trails… but World Vision is my new beacon for an organization that really gets culture – and is living it out in a major way. Which reminds me… there’s no right answer for what a kicking culture should look and feel like. Every organization is unique as can be and your culture is, to a large degree, what it is. For better or worse. You just have to figure out the value proposition, define it, and build the messaging around it.
You may be getting them into trouble, and then again that may be a good thing. This hiring practice is clearly discriminatory against a protected class. Although they claim here: http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/about/hr-faith that this is somehow allowed, in fact it is only allowed for certain positions that require religious beliefs, such as a minister. A relief worker or a legal counsel don’t require religious beliefs.
This article is like saying that the corporate culture of 60 years ago of hiring only white men who spoke, thought and played alike was a great example of corporate culture.
The reason Google and Zappos stand out is that theirs is a benevolent culture.
Sexual orientation and gender identity are protected classes in both Washington state and Washington D.C., which are World Vision’s two major bases of operations. I would love to see how their “corporate culture” copes with one of their staff coming out, or revealing themselves as transgendered.
I bet they’d have a discrimination lawsuit faster than you can say “fundamentalist.”
I don’t believe that Jessica was in any way endorsing World Vision’s discriminatory hiring practices or saying they have a culture that other organizations should aspire to. She actually writes, “there’s no right answer for what a kicking culture should look and feel like.”
The point I took away is that World Vision is intensely aware of their culture (good or bad to you and me) and has methods to ensure a culture match with a candidate in the hiring process. Those companies (like Zappos, Google and World Vision – and you could argue GE and McKinsey here as well) who hire for culture fit first and specific job skills second have traditionally outperformed others in their industries.
Their statement of faith in and of itself presents a very strict Christian view. I’ve worked for organizations that requested staff to sign a statement of faith, but nothing as restrictive as this one. Many Christians I know couldn’t agree to that statement.
That being said, I agree with Jessica. If companies present their mission, vision, or values statement to candidate and ask them to explain their commitment to those things it is a form of culture building and selection for fit. If you ask your employees to sign off on your values it reinforces that you have the right people in your company. If your statements do not violate individual rights or cause discriminatory hiring practices, is there a problem?
I think a lot of Christian organizations face the potential to get themselves in pretty deep. But the question will always be, are you a minister if you work in ministry, or only if you hold a specific role in ministry?
“If your statements do not violate individual rights or cause discriminatory hiring practices.”
If you value statements are religious value statement, and you require candidates for non-minister positions to profess and follow these religious values, your hiring practice is discriminatory and violates the applicant’s rights.
Very interesting culture indeed! I live in the Seattle area, and I’ve seen HR openings at World Vision, but their statement of faith always puts me off applying. (Even though I am a Christian!)
I’ve always wondered how they get away with this. How does faith fall into essential KSAs? Aside from being discriminatory, it assumes that non-Christians are incapable of doing good in the world, which, of course, is nonsense.
But I still find it fascinating for all the reasons you’ve described. How do they handle issues that all humans, Christian or not, inflict on the workplace?
It’s hard for me to imagine a culture more lacking in diversity of thought, beliefs, and values than this one. Although I do suspect the people that followed Jim Jones to Guyana in the late 1970′s thought the culture and values they signed up for were pretty “kicking”. YUK!
This might be your “beacon” of corporate culture, but it sure ain’t mine.
okay – so i’m not the kind of HR gal who professes being an employment law expert. i don’t love it but i know enough to keep me and my org out of trouble. but for yossi and paul… according to the chat i had with that employee, he shared that they have been able to successfully argue a BFOQ. don’t know how they do it. but they do. and chick-fil-a pretty much falls in the same boat, no?
thanks all for the commentary though! appreciate y’all taking a read. i wish i could have chatted with them a bit more because i’m so fascinated by them and chick-fil-a as well. hope the message hits home though that for better or worse, they’ve got culture nailed down. i personally wouldn’t work there, and i could not imagine asking such interview questions… but good for them for being so clear in their vision!
Whoa. I dont think you need to be a legal expert to see that THAT question reeks of intolerance.
Title VII’s bar on religious discrimination does not apply to religious entities. According to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, World Vision is a religious entity. (Spencer v. World Vision (9th Cir. 2010)).
Yossi mentions the ministerial exception, which applies to all other types of discrimination (race, sex, color, etc…) and is much narrower.
What an interesting article. But I guess I agree that HR should not be like secret agents lurking in the dark and waiting for others to commit a crime. They should be the leaders of the pack. Trusted, respected amiable and in a sense-loved. That will enable them to do their job better.
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