Why Is It Important To Hire Someone with Cultural Fit?

Businesses, like people, have a personality, which is referred to as business culture. An increasing number of business leaders and human resource managers recognize the value of hiring people who have the personality and business attributes that match the values, beliefs, and attitudes that their organization promotes.

Culture-fit hiring ensures alignment between the candidate and the company's values and norms. It works in both directions. Prospective employees are also looking for a good cultural fit. The millennial generation, in particular, is becoming more selective about the type of employer for which they work.

This blog will explain what cultural fit is and why it's important in business.

What is Cultural Fit?

Defining company culture can be difficult because it often evolves and is unique to each organization.

Some people refer to company culture as the "personality" of the organization. Many forward-thinking companies, for example, have a fun and engaging culture that includes benefits such as a relaxed dress code, a strong work/life balance, flexible scheduling, and regular company-wide social events. Others may define company culture as having less to do with the "vibe" of the workplace and more to do with the company's vision, values, and day-to-day processes.

It is ultimately up to you how you define company culture, but ideally, it should be a statement or set of statements that define who you are as an organization as well as what it signifies to work for your organization

Why is cultural fit important?

There is some confusion in the business world about how to hire for cultural fit, but the vast majority of HR leaders agree that it is critical. Here are a few reasons:

40% of those who believe a harmful or toxic work environment would cause them to quit their jobs blame it on company culture and values.

The company's support for employees' professional growth, a better benefits package, and improved work/life balance are all aspects of a company's culture that lead to higher employee retention rates.

The longer your employees stay with your company, the more likely it is that your company's culture and reputation will grow. This will attract better employees to your company and increase employee retention.

Employers could have retained more than three-quarters of employees who quit a job due to company culture reasons such as career development, work/life balance, manager behavior, and work environment.

People who enjoy their jobs and their workplaces are more satisfied and perform better. If someone wants their job but is unhappy where they work, it can lead to poor performance, which can hurt your bottom line. This is a significant reason why including cultural fit in your hiring strategy is important.

When an employee works for a company and feels at odds with the culture, it can lead to dissatisfaction and lower productivity. Employees who require specific direction while working on a project but work in environments that encourage independence and self-direction, or employees who want to take the initiative to lead projects but are stifled by leadership who wants to micromanage everything, are two examples.

Adding a new member to your team is an expensive process. It is not only expensive in terms of money, but also in terms of time and vital resources.

Let's look more closely at what happens during the hiring process. The term 'time-to-fill' refers to the length of the entire hiring process, beginning with the creation of a new job opening and ending with the hiring of someone for the role. It demonstrates how long it takes to fill a position once the need for a new employee has been identified.

According to 49% of businesses, it takes 7-14 days from the day a job application is received to the day an offer letter is sent. On the other hand, 24% of businesses say it takes 15-30 days to send out an offer letter.

Employees should not look forward to going to work every day. When employees see themselves as valuable team members, they identify with the company's success and contribute to the organization's overall purpose and goals. They are less likely to leave if they feel accountable to both their coworkers and their employer.

Great hires instill new energy in their teams, sparking creativity and reinvigorating motivation. That increase in overall engagement has the potential to increase productivity and profitability by 20%.

Workplace stress is primarily caused by a lack of job fit, which can be avoided through value alignment between employees and the work environment (aka having a cultural fit in your workplace). Stress destroys coworker relationships and distracts people from doing their jobs well. Because cohesive teams are more productive, consider how new hires will impact (and be impacted by) existing dynamics.

A competitive salary and benefits package may be appealing to some candidates, but for others, the intangible qualities of a company may be the deciding factor. And cultural factors are beginning to take precedence over things like remuneration.

Prospective candidates can learn more about a company's culture by visiting its website or following them on social media. As a candidate, this allows you to assess whether the company is a good cultural fit.

According to a Columbia Business School survey of 1,400 North American CEOs and CFOs, 90% "strongly believe that the quality of a company's culture is inextricably linked with its financial achievement in addition to its 'value' in the world."

In a nutshell, a company culture is a form of currency; however, the currency is measured in terms of your organization's credibility, reputation, and brand image, not just financial value.

A team that shares the same core values performs better and is more aligned with the same goals than a team with disparate priorities. Professional and personal differences are much easier to reconcile in teams where everyone shares the same values.

Organizations with a strong culture value collaborative working processes and open communication. Employees naturally find it easier to communicate when their values are aligned.

More than 5% of employees leave a company due to the work environment. The issue of culture-employee misfit continues to be a major issue for businesses. On the plus side, a good culture fit fosters team bonding and collaboration, which leads to increased productivity and results.

Although it is impossible to ensure that every hire is active and involved in every activity undertaken by the team, colleagues must think in the same way and share a common goal or purpose.

Even if a team member is excellent at their job, spreading negativity in the workplace can lead to dissatisfied colleagues and overall decreased productivity. If these issues are not addressed promptly, valuable team members may be lost.

You can always provide someone with the collaboration tools and resources they need to learn a job-related skill, but you can never change someone's mindset to fit your company culture.

Final Thoughts

Hiring for cultural fit is critical to maintaining your company's reputation. Employees who do not fit in tend to be disengaged at work.

During the recruitment process, weeding out people who do not fit your culture can save you money in the long run.

Finally, you cannot teach someone to fit into the culture and goals of your organization. However, you can hire the best candidate for your company's longevity and the foundation of its core values.

Finding the right cultural fit for your company can have a positive impact—and it can have more than one. If you're looking for the right cultural fit, check out the Amplifyre OpenBench.