Hiring for Cultural Fit: An Organizational Necessity

Hiring cultural fit employees is an organizational necessity. It leads to higher motivation & profits. Learn how your organization can hire the right people

How will hiring cultural fit employees benefit my organization?

How do organizations go about recruiting employees who are culturally fit?

[Blog Inspiration: 7Geese]

At Brightwing, we believe that in today’s competitive world you cannot be successful in the marketplace without first being successful in the workplace. It’s at the core of everything we do, and the reason we invest so much in the culture of our organization. That being said, we pride ourselves on hiring employees who are the right ‘fit’. In this blog, we will answer 2 questions:

Before we dive into the brass tacks of cultural fit importance, see if these numbers speak to you like they speak to us. According to a recent Career Builder survey:

– 66% of U.S. employers reported ‘bad’ hires
– 37% of U.S. employers lost productivity because of a bad hire
– 27% of U.S. employers reported a single bad hire cost more than $50,000

Not only can hiring for cultural fit save your organization loads of money, but it can also lead to higher motivation and productivity. When employees align with your culture and the core values it stands for, they’re typically intrinsically motivated to work at full capacity towards organizational objectives. For that reason, it’s important for hiring managers to focus on candidates who are a good cultural fit, rather than just a good job fit. In essence, you’re saving money and improving company morale every time you hire someone who is culturally fit.

Now that you know the importance and benefits to hiring for cultural fit, we will discuss the best practices,

, for recruiting employees who are culturally fit.

Using behavioral-based questions is a great way to assess suitability in the screening/interviewing process. Furthermore, you can identify candidate competencies that align with the organization’s core values by asking situational questions. For example, if one of your core values is dedication, you may ask the candidates to discuss a time when they went above and beyond on a particular work or school project. Past behaviors are often good predictors for the future, so asking good questions is key.

Often times, the toughest tasks for hiring managers is avoiding biases during the recruitment process. It’s easy to like someone who has a similar background and interests to you. This is why it’s important that hiring managers are trained to hire based on the interviewee’s core value compatibility to the organization, and not necessarily the manager. Furthermore, they need to know what they’re looking for in candidates, and how to interpret and evaluate interview question responses.

Organizations should brand themselves around their core values. If done correctly, potential candidates can evaluate their suitability with your organization. For example, a company’s website, videos, and social media are all outside resources that may be utilized to examine cultural fit. If your organizational culture fits the criteria of a job-seeker, they may just find you before you find them.

We’ve discussed the the benefits of hiring for cultural fit, along with some of the best practices to hiring the right people. If your employees can fully represent your core values, your organization will more than likely encounter higher morale, profitability, and likelihood of avoiding recruitment process failure.