If people can be different then guess what, so can businesses, it’s called business culture and it’s the personality that your business has when it comes to the daily operations and even just how it presents itself to those outside of the organisation.
That’s why HR managers, senior leaders and even CEOs are interested in developing their own corporate culture and in turn, finding the people that can fit more the culture and develop skills and capabilities rather than just having all the same types of people working in their teams.
In fact, being able to hire people who have the personality and business attributes to match the values, beliefs and attitudes upheld in the organisation is a business advantage. That’s why having the right kind of questions to ask about culture fit has become so important.
In this guide we are going to take a closer look at what cultural fit in the workplace looks like, why it’s so important, how to do a culture fit assessment and finally, give examples of the types of questions that you can ask to develop your own cultural fit interview assessment.
What is cultural fit in the workplace?
Cultural fit in the workplace is what contributes to a company’s or organisation’s culture. This includes, values and beliefs of the founders, working environment, the values and beliefs of the employees, workplace behaviour and even the interaction between the management and employees.
Workplace culture is more like a complicated ecosystem which you are tailoring to the cultural differences of the components listed above with things such as I.T systems, premises, tools - the things that are needed to help individuals and teams work together.
Like people, organisations have their own personalities and they are all different which is why, cultural fit is about matching people with business culture rather than necessarily complete skillsets or ability profiles. Yes, the latter are important but if someone can fit into the organisation quickly and have less turbulent time doing so then, the rest can be developed quicker.
It’s why you can find many examples - whether it is personally in your own life or of stories you have heard on the internet - where someone didn’t fit in with the business, but had all the right skills to succeed.
What cultural fit is not, is that it is not focused on recruiting people who are identical. That is not the case, it’s about matching many different aspects of cultural identity with the organisation, in fact, it’s more about creating wider cultural diversity in candidates. I.e. you could have two people with very different backgrounds but both of whom share ideals about time keeping or completing projects. These are about getting the work done in a similar way but having individuals who can exhibit different cultural backgrounds with one another.
When organisations get cultural fit wrong, it can be hard for the business. A single bad-fit employee can have a disastrous impact on an organisation, cause disruption amongst other staff members and even create long-term damage to the successful operation of the business.
Why cultural fit is important?
There is widespread discussion amongst HR professionals who believe that cultural fit is arguably the most important factor in creating good hiring practices and developing teams for success. There are various reasons in which organisations can benefit from hiring for cultural fit, these include:
- Enhanced performance and productivity
Where there is a strong culture amongst workers and especially one where the company goals and values are clearly defined and explained, employees are more engaged and perform better.
- Boosted employee satisfaction and engagement
As noted, aligning values means employees are naturally more engaged and happy employees are more motivated, productive and satisfied.
- Reduced staff turnover
We spend more than a third of our lifetimes in the workplace which means that we had better be more connected and happy in the workplace. Cultural fit is a huge part of this but what if the company doesn’t match your culture?
What if you are working with people who don’t have aligned values or goals?
Less engaged, less happy workers are more likely to leave rather than the opposite.
- Better cohesion
When values are aligned between the employees and the organisation, there is better cohesion which in turn means that businesses can target their aims more effectively and achieve their goals.
- More effective communication
Better cultural fit aids effective communication - between workers and between management and staff. Good cultures are about having open communication practices and collaborative working.
- Reduced stress and enhanced wellbeing
Stress levels in the workforce are largely due to the lack of a job fit which can be preventable with a value alignment between the employees and the work environment (aka having a cultural fit in your workplace).
These benefits clearly demonstrate that when hiring for cultural fit just how important it is to get it right. One bad hire can undo a lot of work and undermine the business creating a toxic environment which can leave individuals feeling isolated, unengaged and even abandoning the ideas and values of the organisation.
Cultural fit assessment
Of course, hiring the best people for cultural fit can be hard, and understandably, the challenge for managers and HR professionals is such that there can be a lot of pressure to get it right to protect both the business and the candidate who is being hired. After all, the last thing you want to do is also hire someone who seems good on paper but after a month feels like they don’t fit in with the nature of the business.
This is why having the right type of hiring process in place is essential. From creating the right types of assessments and evaluation tools to being able to clearly assess without bias in the interview process.
Naturally, there are some key things that you want to have in place when hiring for cultural fit, these include:
- Clearly define and describe the company culture
There is a need to clearly state the values, norms and practices that characterise an organisation’s culture.
- Reflect the company culture in all hiring materials
Whether it is through the website, job board or all other communications via media (social, print) they should reflect the defined company culture.
- Ensure recruiters know how to discuss company culture with candidates
If using recruiters, they should clearly know the company culture throughout the interview process. What is different with this company compared to company Y etc.
- Provide candidates with a complete view of the company culture
One of the tips that you can easily implement is something like doing a walk around the office for candidates in the final stages of an interview. This exposes candidates to the culture as it is and it is even preferable if they speak to people in different teams to get an idea or vision of what the corporate culture looks like for themselves.
- Ensure diversity, equality and inclusion are factored into the hiring process
Developing a diverse and inclusive company culture is good for businesses. It helps to build creativity, problem solving skills and even can be in support of younger and senior members of the team in learning new processes.
By asking the right cultural fit questions through the interview process, candidates whose values, beliefs and behaviours fit in with a company’s culture can be more readily identified. Importantly - those whose values etc. don’t fit can be discounted.
Interview questions to assess cultural fit
When conducting interviews to assess cultural fit, note that they apply to all candidates - regardless of the role for which they are being interviewed. Some of these questions may be asked at an early stage of the interview process, and some possibly revisited at a later face-to-face interview stage.
Here are some of the kinds of questions that you can ask as part of the interview process to assess cultural fit:
- What gets you excited about coming to work?
- What was the last really great book you read?
- What surprises people about you?
- If you were going to start your own business, what would it be?
- What’s the biggest problem in most offices today?
- What did you like most/least about your last company?
- Where/when/how do you do your best work?
- When was the last time you made a big mistake at work?
- How could a manager best support you?
- Describe the best/worst team-building exercise you have ever participated in.
- How do you handle stress or tight deadlines?
- What three things do you need to succeed in this position?
- What kind of events do you attend outside of work hours?
- How would you describe your group of friends?
- What do you do for fun?
- Are you still friends with any previous colleagues?
- How do you prefer to communicate with coworkers?
- What has been the most valuable lesson of your professional career?
- What does a successful company culture look like to you?
- What most appeals to you about this role?
- How will this role challenge you?
- Who inspires you and why?
- How do you give/respond to critique?
- What three words would a current manager/colleague/direct report use to describe you?
- What has been the greatest disappointment of your life to date?
- If you do not get this position, what will be your next career move?
- What tools or apps allow you to work more efficiently?
- Which of our company’s core values do you most/least identify with?
- How do you manage conflict with coworkers?
- Describe a time when you exceeded people’s expectations.
- What role does kindness/empathy/humour play at work?
- Would you rather work alone or with a team?
- How would you describe your leadership style?
- What would be your ideal work schedule?
- What would you change about our office/website/hiring process/business model?
- Describe the type of work environment in which you can really give your best and be most productive.
- Did you become a really good friend with any of your colleagues at your previous (or current) workplace? What do you think about having close relationships with your coworkers? Is this a good or a bad practice?
- Do you prefer working alone or as part of a team? Please explain your answer.
- Describe a challenging situation you have faced recently at work, and how you tackled it.
- What are you passionate about?
- What does your ideal work day look like?
- Tell me about the most stressful situation you faced at work. What happened? How did you handle it?
- In your experience, how does an organisation encourage your use of your discretionary energy and effort, that willingness each employee has, to go the extra mile, push harder, spend more time, and do whatever is necessary to get the job done?
- Describe what you believe are the most effective roles that a good manager plays in his or her relationship with reporting staff members.
- Do you have a best friend at work? How do you feel about becoming friends with your coworkers? Is this a wise practice?
- What are the positive aspects of your current job and work environment, or the last position you held before coming to this interview?
- What is your preferred work style? Do you prefer working alone or as part of a team? What percentage of your time would you allocate to each, given a choice?
- What are the three to five expectations that you have of senior leaders in an organisation where you will work successfully?
- Tell us about an occasion when you believe that you delighted a customer, either an internal or an external customer.
Conclusion
Like people, all businesses are different and that difference can be described as workplace culture. Culture includes, values and beliefs of the founders, working environment, the values and beliefs of the employees, workplace behaviour and even the interaction between the management and employees.
Getting the hiring right for workplace culture is extremely important and doing it right can mean benefits for the individuals as well as for the company. Thomas assessments and tools can help organisations and HR managers make the right choices when assessing candidates on their cultural fit.
If you would like to find out more, please speak to one of our team.
