Culture Shock: Why 'Fit' Is Edging Out 'Skill' in Assessing Candidates
By Seleena Juma
We all know that ‘people’ are the primary intellectual capital that give most companies their competitive advantage, and that wrong hires can cost your business thousands (approximately three times the annual salary of the employee) – so why aren’t more of us working harder to hire for cultural fit in the employee selection process?
A company’s culture can be compared to DNA - that unique collection of attributes that sets one individual apart from another. Every organization has a distinct cultural fabric comprised of its leadership patterns, management styles, goals, values, ethics, strengths, weaknesses, and just general day-to-day business practices.
Why 'value alignment' and 'fit' is important.
For years, the traditional approach to hiring has been to find candidates with the right skill-set and experience to step in and hit the ground running in their new role. And while this is fine in certain environments or for limited engagements – if the right ‘skill-set’ candidate isn’t the right ‘cultural fit’ it can upset the fine balance of employee commitment and energy that defines truly successful companies – and lead to an overall decline in productivity. Ultimately, if a candidate isn’t adding energy to your culture – they’re detracting from it.
As businesses evolve and become more strategic they’re finding that the best match between candidate skill set and job requirements isn’t necessarily the top priority in assessing candidates. Sure, hard-skill competency is still important, but ‘value alignment’ and ‘cultural fit’ are far greater indicators of an individual’s success. Several studies have found that individuals selected on the basis of cultural fit will contribute faster, perform better and stay longer.
Hire for fit, train for skill.
Immense changes in the workplace over the last decade have contributed directly to this need for a greater emphasis on fit. Working in team environments occurs more frequently today, and employees are asked to take on a much wider range of responsibilities. Also, as the pace of business becomes faster, employees need to be adaptable and able to handle frequently changing business conditions.
People are constantly in a state of change with regard to their knowledge and skill sets. An individual’s values and motivations however, remain constant and are almost impossible to change. And while skills can be evolved or developed for the most part, cultural fit and value alignment cannot be trained - making it that much more critical to assess initially.
Invest in the right 'people'.
Any new employee in a new job is going to have some level of learning curve to deal with. Leading companies are now realizing this and hiring employees who fit into their organization’s culture and possess the potential for growth, allowing them to hone up and evolve their skills once onboard. The end result gives the employer the best of both worlds; great fit along with the necessary skill set.
It used to be that viewing employees as long-term investments could only be found in a select few, truly progressive companies. However, as increasing data is beginning to help us understand the corporate costs of hiring, firing, re-hiring and managing employees, more employers are realizing it’s important to hire people for today, as well as tomorrow. If you have a ‘star’ employee who’s topped-out in their role, it’s much cheaper (and ultimately more profitable for your company) to evolve and retain them than to lose them to a new role elsewhere.
Employees that 'Fit' = higher productivity
As the costs associated with hiring and replacing employees continue to grow, companies simply can’t afford to make bad hiring decisions. A bad hire can affect the bottom line financially and can dramatically deflate the morale and productivity of others in the company. Conversely, a great hire can seem like a part of the team instantly and often go above and beyond in their performance. In fact, it’s now been shown that qualitative issues such as ‘perceived fit’ and ‘value alignment’ are a far greater influencing factor (more so than money) for individuals accepting new jobs – and a key determinant of an employee’s long-term performance and success.
How to assess 'fit'
When it comes to assessing ‘fit’ – more is more. More data, more interviews and as much additional perspective on your candidate as possible. To ensure your company doesn’t fall victim to the consequences of poor cultural fit, it’s critical to be aware of attributes related to “fit” during the hiring process, and implement processes that help reveal these personality traits.
The following are some of the more popular methods for assessing fit when hiring, and provide opportunities and situations for a candidate’s inherent personality traits to come out:
- Behavioural interview questions specifically targeting values
- Reference checks that pay specific attention towards values
- Panel interviews using multiple interviewers to assess fit
- Assessment in social settings with potential team members
- Onsite visits and 'trial' work periods
- Cultural (Motivational) Fit Questionnaires
- Personality Inventory
"If you don't know where you're going, any road can take you there..."
Of course it’s hard to assess ‘fit’ if you don’t already have a clearly articulated understanding of your existing corporate values and the values and/or profiles of the prospective employee’s hiring manager and peer group.
Third-party assessment tools and Personality Inventory tests often suggest running the hiring manager and/or the entire team through their test to assess alignment and while these tools have their limitations, they often provide insights about people that verify (or articulate) what you already knew in your gut.
If your organization uses recruitment consultants, it’s essential to also educate the search agency about your corporate and/or team values the tools you employ to assess candidates. Be sure to clearly articulate to the market that which sets your company apart – i.e. why would top talent want to work in your organization? This is extraordinarily valuable for your search partner in helping them identify the right candidates for you. And if your search agency discounts the importance of cultural fit, then you might want to look for one that does fully realize its value and impact.
Your employees should be your competitve advanage
In today’s dynamic, fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, the importance of considering and assessing cultural fit during the recruitment process will only continue to grow. And ensuring you get it right the first time will prove to be increasingly critical going forward. Re-hiring and managing poor performers will prove too costly for companies striving to be leaders in their industry.
Remember that a good hire should not only carry out the day-to-day functions of a given role, but also enhance your company’s culture and help your overall business collectively grow and succeed.
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As a Consultant, Seleena Juma works in partnership with some of the brightest minds in the consumer goods, pharmaceutical, and financial services industries.
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