Perusing a culture fit is a strategic HR approach within a recruitment process. It’s a way of better ensuring that a candidate is the right person to hire. Culture fit refers to how well a person’s values, beliefs, personality and behaviour align with an organisation or team’s core values and working style. It can be indicative of how well someone will integrate into a company and the extent to which they will thrive within their work environment. Other names for culture fit are culture complement or culture compatibility.

Why is Culture Fit Important

Culture fit is about thriving at work, not simply being capable of doing the job. Research shows that employee well-being and happiness is key to effective, efficient and productive work performance. Therefore, not only does a good culture fit benefit the individuals within a company but it also can be a contributing factor towards company success.

What Culture Fit means for Business

One of the primary reasons a business should be interested in looking for culture fits is because it leads to stronger teams. Culture fit is not based on demographics such as age, race, gender or socio-economic background. Rather, culture fit is grounded in shared values, goals, beliefs, behaviours and workstyles. This means that when there’s a good culture fit, people share these attributes as a foundation. Consequently, they tend to collaborate well and feel a sense of belonging.

5 Advantages of a Good Culture fit for Companies

1. Increased productivity.
2. Higher employee retention rates.
3. Reduced hiring and training costs.
4. Improved teamwork.
5. Stronger employer brand.

What a Good Culture Fit means for Employees

Employees whose values, goals, work ethos and behaviours align with their company’s, have been shown to have higher job satisfaction. As a result, they tend to thrive at work and are more likely to be highly motivated and enthusiastic about their jobs. Furthermore, a good culture fit fosters a sense of belonging which builds good cooperation within and between teams. This also enhances feelings of loyalty and augments mental well-being. The result of improved work-related well-being is decreased employee stress levels and less sick days.

6 Examples of Culture Fit: Matching Employees and Employers

1. Teamwork and Collaboration: Employees enjoy group projects, seek feedback and working with their colleagues. They succeed within a company environment that values teamwork, open communication and celebrates collective success.
2. Innovation and Creativity: Employees are curious, adaptable and comfortable taking risks. They operate best within a company environment that encourages experimentation, sharing of new ideas and learning from failures.
3. Fast-Paced and High Energy: Employees thrive under pressure, enjoying juggling multiple projects within a company that prioritises urgency, results and flexibility.
4. Learning and Growth-Orientation: Employees enjoy upskilling, seek opportunities and are open to constructive criticism. Their ideal company would focus are development, feedback and continuous improvement.
5. Mission-Driven / Purpose-Focused: Employees want to make an impact through their work and are passionate about their company’s mission. A company that matches them has strong sense of purpose, ethics and/or social responsibility.
6. Structured and Process-Driven: Employees prefer a structured work environment that has clearly defined expectations. The best fit company culture for them is one that values organisation, procedures and consistency.

How to Check Culture Fit

It’s important for candidates and employers to evaluate each other and thereby check culture fit. As a candidate you want to know how well the company’s values, workstyle and approaches match with your own. As an employer or recruiter your purpose is to ensure, without bias, that a prospective employee aligns with and will uphold company values and work ethic.

If You’re a Candidate: How to Check Company Culture Fit

1. Research the Company: Look at their online presence (website and social media pages) as well as online reviews. If you can, talk to past and current employees.
2. Ask Questions during the Recruitment Process: Be purposeful in your interview questions so you can determine how people really work there and what the company truly values.
3. Observe the Atmosphere: During an interview and if/when you go into the company premises, observe employee’s body language. Listen to tone and the way things are phrased – is it open and engaging, positive, quiet and reserved, structured or relaxed?
4. Reflect on your Own Values: List what you value and what matters most to you. Then compare it to what you’ve found out about the company to see how well matched you are.

If You’re an Employer or Recruiter: How to Check Candidate Culture Fit

1. Define your Core Values Clearly: Define the company’s values, work-style and behaviours which define the company’s culture. Note that you will need to determine what the actual working culture is, as it might not be the same as what’s listed in company documents and website overviews. These need to be defined in a measurable way so that they can be used as comparative points during recruitment.
2. Use Behavioural Interview Questions: Ask interview questions that are related to real experiences to determine how a candidate operates, approaches their work and interacts with colleagues. E.g.
   1. What motivates you to do your best work, and how do you bring that energy into a team setting?
   2. How do you build trust in a professional relationship?
   3. What kind of behaviour affects you negatively?
   4. If someone more senior or same level, who you have worked with for some time and come to know and trust, does something they should have spoken to you about. However, you don’t agree with what they have done, what would you do?
3. Include Team Input (meet and greet): As part of the recruitment process set aside time for a candidate to meet potential colleagues. Afterwards, get feedback from them to get additional perspectives if, and how well the candidate will fit into the existing team.

How to Ensure Culture Fit

Culture fit is based on shared core values, a similar work-style and ethos as well as attitude. It impacts an employee’s wellbeing and their ability to be effective, efficient and productive at work. For a company, recruitment that ensures a good culture fit can determine how successful and competitive they’re able to be.

As employees are the biggest asset and investment a company continually makes, many businesses rely on experienced recruitment agencies to oversee their hiring processes. The Key Recruitment Group has over 50 years of recruitment experience. This means that we are experts at assessing and matching culture fits. Contact Us today to discuss how we can partner with you to help you ensure the success of your recruitment processes.