Why is hiring for cultural fit important in the workplace?

We all know there is lots to consider when choosing to hire a new employee. Deciding if they are qualified for the role, if they have the correct experience and mentality to complete the role to a high standard and finally if they will fit in with the culture of your company.

Hiring for culture fit is about bringing employees into the mix whose beliefs, behaviours, and values align with those of your organisation. This is not the same as hiring people who merely share similar backgrounds and experiences. Having a diverse set of employees will help to bring new points of view and perspectives to your company helping it to grow and develop.

Why does culture matter?

The most common ways for a company to sell themselves to future employees is through discussing benefits, opportunity for growth and company culture.

Establishing a strong company culture can help candidates to understand what it would be like to work at your company. It is important to consider if this employee will fit and engage with the team of employees you currently have. If this isn't the case you could end up hiring an applicant who isn't a good fit simply because neither party was aware of the mismatch.

By including cultural fit in your hiring strategy you decrease the likelihood of employee turnover, increase employee loyalty and satisfaction and finally increase worker performance.

How to hire for cultural fit?

First and most importantly develop your company values around what you deem most important. These values should be integrated to every aspect of your business not just at a management level but right down to graduates and interns. The best way to develop successful values is to include your employees in the decision. Create an internal engagement survey and ask your employees what values they deem most important.

Next use these values in the hiring process. Integrate them into your job ads and describe your company culture right from the start.

During the interview process ask the candidate how they have used your values in the past? Ask them to include some real life examples of when these values have been used. This will help you to better understand if their mindset would align with the business.

Finally, ensure your values are included in any onboarding documents. Your company culture and values should be integrated and used by your employees in everything that they do. Therefore, highlighting these on day 1 will help your new hires to feel like they are instantly part of your team.