“Culture fit” is a recruiting term used to describe a job candidate’s compatibility with an organization’s values, work style and goals. It can be the deciding factor that sets a candidate apart from the pack in the final round of interviews, as hiring managers want to know that their new hire will get along with the team, advance the company’s mission and uphold professional standards.
What Is Culture Fit?
Culture fit is the degree to which a prospective hire aligns with the values, vision and behavioral norms of an organization.
While the idea is well-intentioned, culture fit can beget unconscious bias when hiring teams pick applicants they have the most in common with. This can stifle workplace diversity and innovation, giving culture fit a bad name. In this article, we’ll explore why culture fit matters and how to approach it thoughtfully — focusing on values alignment and cultural contributions rather than turning hiring into a popularity contest.
What Is Culture Fit?
Culture fit is when a job candidate shares the same values, enthusiasm and goals as their prospective team. Being communicative, accountable and collaborative, for example, are common core values in many organizations.
More than 90 percent of employers believe culture fit is more important than a job candidate’s skills and experience, according to one study. After all, cultural fit is linked to greater job satisfaction, improved job performance and increased employee retention, according to another study.
Recruiters and hiring managers are eager to find someone who will get along with the team and hit the ground running, but those judgment calls can often be subjective and laden with bias. Instead of looking for someone who shares the same professional interests, goals and values, they may gravitate toward someone with whom they share personal similarities — such as attending the same college or enjoying the same pastimes — essentially choosing a friend they could drink beers with after work.
This is not the same as a culture fit, and it could exclude equally qualified candidates who may not have the same hobbies or alma mater. Applicants of other races, genders and other legally protected classes could be deemed a poor culture fit for the team, even if their skills, values and work ethic might be a better fit for the company. When teams hire people like themselves, they miss out on diverse perspectives that could help them solve problems, come up with new ideas and unlock new heights of innovation.
What Is Company Culture?
Company culture refers to the values, goals and behaviors shared by people in an organization. Every organization has a culture, but it’s not always positive. Generally speaking, a healthy culture is shaped by core values like transparency, inclusivity, curiosity and passion for the company’s mission. If leaders make an effort to foster a strong culture, it can lay the foundation for productivity, collaboration and innovation. It can also be the deciding factor in whether employees join (and stay with) the company.
Sharing a common set of goals and values doesn’t mean that everyone is expected to look, act and think alike, though. Diversity of thought and experiences is crucial to a strong company culture, as it can lead to fresh ideas, reveal cultural blindspots and more generally foster an inclusive culture where employees from every walk of life feel like they belong. Research has shown that diversity is linked to positive business outcomes, which is why it’s a common value in today’s top companies.
Culture Fit vs. Culture Add
While culture fit is primarily based on an alignment with cultural values, it can also hinge on a prospective hire’s connection with the team. But people tend to gravitate toward people like themselves, which can lead to a homogeneous team that thinks like each other and values consensus over debates that could improve the company.
Instead of finding a candidate who fits the existing culture, there is a shift in the recruiting sector to look for candidates who can add to the culture. When a company hires for “culture add,” they consider whether a candidate’s diverse background or experience could build on the values or goals that will shape the future of the organization. Framing the discussion as a culture add also allows new hires to feel comfortable expressing their authentic self without feeling like they need to fit into a box.
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant was an early advocate for “culture add” hires. In a lecture from 2017, he cites a Stanford University study that found companies that hire for culture fit are less likely to fail and more likely to go public. But after they go public, they grow at a slower rate than other companies. To adapt and innovate, Grant said, companies should ask what is missing from their culture, and then hire people who can add to it. Design firm IDEO, for example, hired anthropologists, screenwriters and journalists to better understand their clients’ design needs.
How to Interview for Culture Fit
A candidate’s skills and qualifications are critical to their performance, but it’s also important to consider how they will impact the company culture. The last thing you want is a toxic employee who clashes with others or acts out of line with the company’s core values.
Recruiters and hiring managers can try to assess a candidate’s cultural compatibility by following these guidelines:
Define the Company Culture
Before you talk about what a candidate can bring to the company culture, it’s important that everyone is on the same page about what the culture is. Leaders should bring the team together around the company’s core values, and they should reinforce those values when discussing team performance. Above all, make sure the team is living by the stated values, or the new hire may feel confused or even deceived by the disconnect between expectations and reality.
Broadcast Company Values
Companies should talk about their values in their job descriptions, on their company website and during the interview process. This will let the candidate know upfront where the company stands, avoiding trouble down the road. If a new hire isn’t aligned with company values, they could quit within months, causing the company to go through the time and cost-intensive hiring process all over again.
Tailor Behavioral Interview Questions to Company Values
Don’t base hiring decisions around a candidate’s taste in music or movies. Instead, ask questions that will illustrate their alignment with the company’s core values.
Here are a few examples:
- What did you value most about your last employer’s organizational culture?
- What motivates you to do your best work?
- How could a manager best support you?
- Tell me about a time you had to resolve a disagreement.
- Tell me about a time you collaborated to reach a goal.
- Describe a time you made a mistake at work and how you handled it.
Be Mindful of Unconscious Bias
Unconscious bias is when someone has a prejudice or stereotype about certain groups of people without realizing it — and it can be a real problem in recruitment. That’s why it’s important to have a diverse group of people involved in the entire hiring process. All of these participants should undergo unconscious bias training, and they should be briefed on proper interview practices and hiring protocols. If someone believes a candidate is not a culture fit, they should articulate a specific reason for their claim. This will ensure you’re hiring the best culture fit for the team — not just the person you get along with the most.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a better way to say culture fit?
Instead of saying “culture fit,” some recruiters prefer to say “culture add,” which implies the applicant will bring a new perspective to the team. Recruiters may also prefer to frame the discussion around a candidate's alignment with company values.
How do you show you are a culture fit?
Job applicants can demonstrate they are a culture fit by learning about the company’s core values, highlighting personal experiences that align with those values and expressing enthusiasm for the mission and values of the company.
Is cultural fit biased?
When considering cultural fit, hiring managers’ unconscious bias could factor into whether a candidate will get along with the team. This is why many recruiters have decided to center the discussion around company values, which are more concrete, or by reframing the term as a “culture add,” which considers how a prospective hire could strengthen the company’s culture.
What is a bad culture fit?
A bad culture fit is when someone does not align with company values. If a candidate seems egotistical, argumentative or dismissive, for example, they won’t fit in with (and will likely damage) a company culture centered around curiosity, collaboration and selflessness.
