Why the right culture fit is a key consideration when recruiting for talent
“Company culture” and “culture fit” are terms we regularly hear – but what do they actually mean? And why does it matter so much for an employer to get “culture” right when searching for prospective employees to join their established team?
Let’s unravel it …
By definition “corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviours that determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions. Often, corporate culture is implied, not expressly defined, and develops organically over time from the cumulative traits of the people the company hires” (ref: Investopedia).
What to consider when recruiting future talent for your business?
For an employer, it should be in their best interests to not only seek the best candidates from a skills, qualifications and experience perspective but to build into that criteria an evaluation of the potential hire to ensure there is a mutual fit between the company and the individual. These criteria should reflect the values and qualities that make up the overall company culture and are already well established and embedded across its diverse workforce.
A CV will most certainly set out the skills, experience, qualifications etc of a candidate but an employer needs to incorporate careful questioning during the hiring process to give an indication of those hidden traits e.g. candidate’s attitude, work ethics and values. Before a hiring manager starts measuring any candidate’s cultural fit they themselves must understand it fully and be able to define and articulate it to any potential employees.
What questions should you ask at an interview?
Some examples of open questions for an employer to include at interview could include:
- What type of culture do you thrive in? (Does the response reflect your own company culture?)
- What values are you drawn to?
- What’s your ideal workplace?
- Why do you want to work here?
- How would you describe our culture based on what you’ve seen?
- Does our culture resonate with you?
- Tell me about a time when you worked with/for an employer where you felt you were (or not) a strong culture fit. Why was it a good or bad fit?
Pre-employment tests for selecting the right candidate
Additionally, employers can assess candidates for cultural fit by asking them to take personality tests such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator which provides a psychological assessment of a candidate that includes personality and stress testing. By way of example if your company is ever changing and working in a fast-paced environment you may be looking to hire someone who can cope with high levels of pressure, competing deadlines etc and this type of testing can support the recruitment process.
Indeed in some companies, part of the recruitment process involves taking the candidate out of the interview situation and putting them into a more relaxed environment such as a “meet the team” scenario (e.g. team meeting or lunch) to really show them what it is like to work in that company. Creating this awareness at an early stage of the process will, more importantly, also provide the candidate with the opportunity to see if the company is the right fit for them. The advantage for an employer to observe these interactions and gather first hand feedback from the wider team will provide additional neutral feedback on candidate suitability and the potential to fit in and aid decision making.
People can vastly differ in their personalities, attitudes and values and so, for both the employer and employee, getting the right culture and team fit is absolutely essential. That’s why it is a key consideration that needs to be carefully assessed when recruiting for future talent.
If you properly assess the cultural fit throughout the recruitment process there will be mutual benefits for both employer and employee. Employees will thrive in their new roles, be brand advocates, help drive the vision of the business and fully embrace and enhance the existing culture. Ultimately getting this right first time can be difficult but investing in this process will save time, resources, costs and create a team that share a set of common goals and core values.
Find the right candidates with Alexander Mae
At Alexander Mae, we are focused on recruiting the highest calibre of candidates for our clients and working with our candidates to ensure each person is placed in the right role. If you are considering recruiting to fit within an established team please click here to find out more, email [email protected] or phone: 0117 9055035.
