Why and how to find employees who fit in with a culture

Cultural fit is not about different countries' cultures; instead, "cultural fit" is the idea that a candidate shares similar core values and behaviours with your current workers, according to Harvard Business Review writer and founder of Koya Leadership Partners, Katie Bouton. Find out why cultural fit is important and how outsourcing your recruitment can be of help.

What is cultural fit important? 

Having employees that are not well-suited for the company culture has been shown to have a direct negative impact on your business' health, Recruiting Daily writers report.

It makes a big difference if you hire employees who value collaboration if there is a lot of collaborative work. Learn how to hire employees who value collaboration if there is a lot of collaborative work.

If an employee doesn't fit into the dynamics of a team, they are more likely to not stay long with the organisation. To reduce the costs of re-hiring and turnover, it is therefore essential to hire employees who are more likely to feel they belong in the culture. However, when an organisation is trying to grow at a fast rate, finding the time to screen candidates for cultural fit can be difficult. This is where outsourcing your recruitment can help. 

How can you recruit for a good cultural fit? 

1. Create a formal statement of cultural values  

The first thing that a recruitment consultant often does is prepare a clear statement of the values of the company. Recruiting Daily suggests that this statement could be formulated in a variety of ways, including having: 

  • An external recruitment consultant observe your culture from the outside 
  • Internal focus groups for staff to voice what they think the culture is
  • The CEO articulate what they think the culture is and and should be and formalise it in a statement.  

The intention of this statement is to provide a road map for the recruiters to refer to in the hiring process.

2. Recruiters can follow this statement 

Does this individual's idea of a good culture reflect our culture?

Once recruiters have an idea of what the company culture is, they can ask insightful questions to see if the candidate would mesh well with the other employees. Bouton gives examples of questions recruiters can ask:

  • What type of culture do you thrive in? 
  • What was a time that you felt you didn't belong in a culture and why was that? 

These types questions will allow the recruiters to get to the bottom of the question: Does this individual's idea of a good culture reflect our culture? 

Flexi Personnel's Recruitment Consultants can carry out all of the above HR strategies and many more. Contact us today to get access to a wealth of experience and expertise in the recruitment field.