What does culture fit mean in the workplace and how can candidates with a good cultural fit enhance a company’s values and goals?

Illustration of people working with puzzle pieces

Learn more about culture fit:

What is culture fit?
Why is culture fit important?
How to assess culture fit
Advantages and disadvantages
Best practices
Additional information or example

Picture this: You’ve just hired a new employee and they have spent the past month completing your well-designed onboarding process. The new hire is up to speed and ready to start working with the rest of their team on projects that will be profitable for your company. But there’s a problem. It turns out that this new employee isn’t a team player after all. They prefer to work alone. After spending so much time and effort to find the right person for the job, you now have an employee on your hands who isn’t the right fit. That’s not the new hire’s fault; it’s yours.

Leadership and management style
Methods of communication
Approach to teamwork and collaboration
Work ethic
Diversity, equity & inclusion policies
Approach to customer-facing roles
Professional development opportunities and qualifications

Aside from ensuring the candidate has the right qualifications and experience for the job (both of which are essential), one thing a hiring manager should not overlook during the recruitment process is the importance of culture fit. If the employee is integrated seamlessly into the existing hierarchy or structure and is accepted by their team, then they can start to deliver results. If there proves to be a cultural misalignment and there is no way to redress the balance, not only has the company wasted valuable time and money on a failed hiring procedure, but the professional that was initially so valued by the company will go straight to a competitor.

Resumé

Assessing culture fit starts during the assessment of the candidate’s application. The information a candidate deems important to include and how they present it immediately offers an insight into that person’s values, priorities, and goals. If, for example, a candidate’s resumé shows regular promotions at multiple companies, then it can be fair to assume they have a strong work ethic and a desire to achieve results. By contrast, if a resumé indicates that the candidate held multiple positions for only a few months at a time over a two-year period, this suggests the candidate has been unable to settle — and is definitely something that should be brought up during their interview.

Interview

The interview with the candidate is a prime opportunity to quiz them about their values, outlook, and approach to work. You can ask questions such as:

Why do you think you’d be the right fit for us?
How do you work in a team?
Could you give an example of a situation where your personal values had a positive impact on a project?
How do you prefer to be managed?
Do you like to work from home, in the office, or a combination of both?
What do you expect in terms of your professional development?
What do you see yourself achieving at this company?
Are you comfortable giving presentations?

Follow-up

If any of the answers provided by the candidate raise cause for concern but the individual remains a contender for the position, it can be prudent to follow up with a second interview or phone call. Being 100% clear from the outset about what the candidate is expected to do and what they can expect from the company is the best way to ensure there is indeed a good culture fit. While it may be inconvenient to invite the candidate onto the premises again or schedule an online meeting, this pales in comparison to the time that would be lost from having to start the hiring process over again in the event that the new hire leaves the company prematurely.

If, for example, a candidate checks all the boxes required for the position but has a view on professional development that differs from the company’s perspective, this should not necessarily be a reason for rejecting the candidate — especially given the relative scarcity of talent in the labor market. A more constructive approach would be to communicate with the candidate to see if there is a compromise that can be found in the event of their employment. This leads to a better outcome for both parties and shows the candidate that you’re willing to listen to their requests and desires. This contributes to a more rewarding candidate experience and bolsters your reputation as a fair employer.

Every individual has their own thoughts and opinions on how something should be done — this is how companies create a workforce that is celebrated for its diversity rather than being homogenous and inflexible. Part of a company’s job is to instill its corporate culture into its workforce and to make employees trust and believe in the methods being used. Instead of finding fault with a new hire for failing to understand the company philosophy within the space of a few short weeks, work with them to understand their perspective and find alignment in areas where there is none.

✦ Defining your core values as a company and communicating them internally and externally: Outline your organization’s mission, values, and optimum culture. Incorporate these materials into your recruitment and onboarding processes and ensure they’re part of your day-to-day operations. When defining these values, be sure to ask for perspectives from both senior and junior staff in order to acquire a comprehensive picture.

✦ Take advantage of behavioral interviews to assess a candidate’s values based on real-world scenarios: Be sure to steer the candidate in the direction of examples that reflect key aspects of the company’s culture and closely analyze the candidate’s answers after the interview.

✦ Have a strong diversity, equity & inclusion policy in place: Avoid culture fit becoming exclusionary by focusing on embodying shared values rather than creating identikit personalities. This allows for a balance between cultural alignment and the freedom to express new and innovative perspectives.

✦ Integrate the company culture into the onboarding process: This will help your new hires to understand and embrace the company’s values and ethos. Also make use of mentorship programs, storytelling (online and offline), and immersion in collaborative projects from an early stage.

✦ Regularly review and reinforce the company culture: Leverage team-building activities, recognition programs, and open feedback channels to take a temperature check of the company culture. Adjust practices and policies as necessary to stay relevant while maintaining a strong cultural foundation.

high employee turnover
difficulties filling positions with top talent
disagreements between long-term staff members

Culture Fit

What is culture fit?

Culture fit overcomes this issue by finding out how well the candidate’s values and working style match that of the company they’re applying to join. Above all, this requires an understanding of the company culture and identity, which includes aspects such as:

Why is culture fit important?

How to assess culture fit

Interview

The interview with the candidate is a prime opportunity to quiz them about their values, outlook, and approach to work. You can ask questions such as:

Follow-up

Advantages and disadvantages

1. Higher employee satisfaction

2. Better collaboration and teamwork

3. Stronger brand representation

Best practices

Additional information or example

Ready to hire?

Culture Fit

What is culture fit?

Culture fit overcomes this issue by finding out how well the candidate’s values and working style match that of the company they’re applying to join. Above all, this requires an understanding of the company culture and identity, which includes aspects such as:

Why is culture fit important?

How to assess culture fit

Interview The interview with the candidate is a prime opportunity to quiz them about their values, outlook, and approach to work. You can ask questions such as:

Follow-up

Advantages and disadvantages

1. Higher employee satisfaction

2. Better collaboration and teamwork

3. Stronger brand representation

Best practices

Additional information or example

Ready to hire?

Interview

The interview with the candidate is a prime opportunity to quiz them about their values, outlook, and approach to work. You can ask questions such as: