Office Plants and Other Living Things: Week 11
I’ve always said a workplace is like an ecosystem. You can’t expect things to bloom if you neglect the soil.
And in any company, that soil starts with recruiting.
When I built out a full Talent Acquisition team, I didn’t want recruiters who could just fill seats fast. I wanted people who could read between the lines, who understood that hiring isn’t about chasing numbers; it’s about cultivating belonging.
Our goal was never to be the team that hit 200 hires a quarter. Our goal was to find the people who would thrive, not just survive, in the environment we were building.
We started asking different questions:
- Will this person bring energy to the room or drain it?
- Do they value curiosity and care as much as output?
- Can they adapt when the light changes, when growth requires pruning or repotting?
It wasn’t always the fastest approach, but it was the right one. Because hiring the right people isn’t a race, it’s a rhythm.
Culture isn’t built after someone joins. It starts the moment they meet your recruiting team. That first interaction sets the tone for everything that follows: the trust, the communication, the sense that they’re joining something living, not mechanical.
We also learned that growth doesn’t stop at the company walls. We reached out and partnered with community members, workforce programs, and organizations that shared our values. When those ecosystems connect, everyone benefits. Opportunities expand, pipelines strengthen, and belonging deepens. That is how sustainable recruiting happens when you grow together, not alone.
I’ve seen great talent walk away from offers not because of the role itself, but because the culture didn’t feel real. People want to do good work, but they also want to feel rooted.
That’s why having the right person leading recruiting matters. They don’t just fill roles; they shape the ecosystem.
Some leaders still see recruiting as a numbers game. More candidates, faster hires, lower costs. But quantity doesn’t grow trust. It doesn’t build longevity. And it definitely doesn’t grow culture.
If you want your workplace to thrive, stop focusing on headcount and start focusing on the ecosystem.
A workplace that thrives doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you treat recruiting as the foundation of culture, not just a function of HR.
And just like any good garden, what you plant now determines what blooms later.
Author’s Note This piece is part of my series Office Plants & Other Living Thingswhere we reimagine HR as a living system. Because people don’t grow in spreadsheets. They grow in environments that care.
Keep Growing – Cveta Chydzinski
People and Talent Strategist | HR Thought Partner | Storytelling in Work and Life