Hiring Culture-Fit Employees

Culture-fit hire is when companies hire candidates that fit with job-related working expectations. An example of this is seeing how well an employee matches the culture of a company, while candidates assess how well the company can meet their working expectations. It is not about similarity in personality, background, hobbies, or identity. Workplace culture usually consists of aspects like values, attitudes, behaviours, and environments, that all impact the workplace. 

What is Company Culture? 

A company’s culture is a combination of factors such as mission statement, goals, management styles, employee engagement and behaviours, and workplace environment. Each company has their own unique workplace culture. When a company is known for having a strong workplace culture, attracting more top talent to the company and achieving better results are aims to evaluate, not assured outcomes. 

Why Culture Fit Matters

Treat job satisfaction, increased productivity, higher engagement rates, and a stronger commitment to the job as aims to evaluate, not assured results of cultural fit. Here are 3 additional reasons why culture fit matters when hiring:

1. Increased morale: When employees enjoy working with those around them, their morale and productivity are still outcomes to evaluate.
2. Sets the tone for the workplace: Employees make up the work environment at a company. Treat attractiveness and higher satisfaction rates as aims to evaluate. 
3. Better results: When a team has strong team synergy, better project results and outstanding work remain aims to evaluate. 

Benefits of Culture Fit 

Treat these benefits as goals to evaluate, not assured results of hiring culture-fit candidates: 

• Increased employee engagement 
• Employee retention and lower turnover rates 
• Innovation: Evaluate how employees collaborate and work with each other; cultural fit does not assure innovation. 
• More effective and clear communication 

On the other hand, these signals call for reviewing working expectations and conditions: 

• Reduced job satisfaction
• Lower productivity 
• Team disruptions
• Increased attrition rates 
• More resources spent on rehiring and retraining

Misconceptions of Culture Fit Hiring

The word “culture fit” can be thrown around in many different contexts. Here are some common misconceptions about culture fit hiring: 

1 - Culture fit means everyone is the same

This misconception is false because cultural fit does not mean that everyone has to be the same as one another. In reality, culture fit is about aligning the job-related values and working expectations of different employees. It is not about having the same personality or background. 

‍2 - Culture fit is all about fun 

Culture fit goes beyond getting along with your colleagues. It is about shared goals, work ethics, and how decisions are made. 

‍3 - Culture fit is a replacement for skills

While job-related cultural fit can be discussed in job interviews, it is not enough to replace the qualifications required for a role. 

4 - It’s just a buzzword

While some may argue that “culture fit” is just corporate jargon with no substance, make working expectations explicit rather than relying on the label. 

5 - Only new hires have to worry about it

Workplace culture is ever-changing and will evolve throughout the years. This means that even long-term employees need to be aligned with the culture, as cultural fit is an ongoing alignment. 

6 - Culture fit can be assessed through tests

Do not assume culture-fit or personality exams can gauge a candidate’s alignment with a company’s culture; examine evidence of job relevance and accessible measurement of relevant skills before relying on them. 

How to Hire for Culture Fit

1. Define your company culture: Link working expectations to actual job tasks and required competencies using OPM job-analysis guidance, and communicate them to your employees and potential applicants. 
2. Train hiring team to discuss culture with applicants: Throughout the hiring process, use a common rating scale and standards for acceptable answers. 
3. Ask culture fit questions: Following OPM structured-interview guidance, ask all candidates the same predetermined questions in the same order.

   Illustrative question, not a validated test; adapt to the role before interviewing: “Describe a disagreement on a team task. What did you do, and what was the outcome?” Rate evidence of listening, explaining a tradeoff, agreeing a next step, and reflecting on the outcome: 0 = absent, 1 = partial, 2 = clear. Each interviewer records individual ratings and supporting details before group discussion.

4. Candidate meeting team members: During the recruitment process, a company can choose to have the applicant meet with potential team members to assess job-relevant evidence against common criteria, rather than see if they are able to get along with each other. 
5. DEI factors when hiring: Assess relevant skills accessibly. For hiring technologies, US DOJ guidance calls for clear accommodation-request procedures without penalizing applicants. 

Follow the tips we have listed above to assess candidates’ skills and working expectations for your company. Don’t forget that company culture is always evolving, so make sure you are reflecting on working expectations with current employees as well!