How to Best Assess Culture Fit
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
Assessing culture fit is often one of the most important tasks when recruiting, however is also often a buzz-phrase that can be overused and misunderstood. According to a recent BlueStep study, culture is so important to a candidate’s tenure that it ranked as the number two reason why executives are planning to leave their current jobs.
A company’s culture is represented by shared values, beliefs, behaviours and attitudes of the company and all employees. This does not mean the company should only hire people who are exactly like the CEO; it’s beneficial to have a diverse team that shares the same values and can provide different points of view, experiences, ideas and more.
Some useful tips for assessing culture fit from our Recruitment team are as follows:
Start with identifying your company culture – values, beliefs, behaviours and attitudes
Understand the candidate’s motivations for wanting to join the company – ask the “why”
Expose potential candidates to the culture through the interview process; have them meet with a variety of people, and observe the interactions with each
The interview process is a two-way street. As a candidate, you also need to know if the role, the team, the leader and the company is fit for you. We recommend for candidates to do some research on their own to find out if they’re a fit.
This could include seeking out online resources such as Glassdoor, or reaching out and learning more from previous and existing employees. Candidates should also check out the office and location to get a feel for the environment and design of the space. Other considerations could be if the company prioritises Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and if it aligns with their personal values. The interview is the best possible opportunity to assess culture fit - always ask questions!
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Culture fit is hard to define and can be quite challenging to assess but if you get it right, it’s incredibly powerful in building and retaining teams. Are you looking for the perfect match to join your team? Get in touch to see how we can help: [email protected].