{
    "componentChunkName": "component---src-templates-blog-page-js",
    "path": "/blog/culture-fit-the-ultimate-key-to-hiring-success",
    "result": {"data":{"contentfulSkillmeterBlogPost":{"url":"culture-fit-the-ultimate-key-to-hiring-success","title":"Culture Fit: The ultimate key to hiring success?","description":{"description":"<p>Believe\r\nit or not, but according to Forbes 89 % of hiring failures are due to poor\r\ncultural fit. This figure should be a wake up call for many companies who\r\nbelieve that skills is all that matters, while culture fit is just a temporary\r\nbuzzword.</p>"},"body":{"body":"<p>Believe it or\r\nnot, but according to Forbes 89 % of hiring failures are due to poor cultural\r\nfit. This figure should be a wake up call for many companies who believe that skills\r\nis all that matters, while culture fit is just a temporary buzzword. Hiring a\r\ncandidate just because he fits perfectly in your corporate culture doesn’t mean\r\nthat the person will be able to make an instant impact on your bottom line, I\r\nadmit. What a company needs to aim for is a candidate who makes a great job fit\r\nas well as culture fit (the compatibility of an individual and a company’s\r\nvalues, beliefs and attitudes).</p><p>If a candidate\r\nmeets both these criteria the benefits can be huge: greater sense of harmony,\r\nhigher job satisfaction, faster contribution, superior performance, longer\r\nretention, better identification with the organisation, higher commitment, higher\r\nself-esteem, better physical as well as mental health (leading to less depression\r\nand anxiety), saving the company some money (no need to spend additional money\r\nin order to replace poor candidates) and having a happier person at the\r\nworkplace. </p><p>Several other surveys\r\nalso highlight the fact that considering the ‘cultural fit’ aspect in the\r\nselection process plays a key role. </p><ul>\r\n<li>9 in 10 recruiters have\r\nrejected candidates due to their lack of cultural fit. 82 % say that measuring\r\ncultural fit is important and almost 100 % agree that cultural fit is not just\r\na buzzword. (Survey by Cubiks Netherlands) </li><li>60 % did not work well with\r\nother employees due to a lack of cultural fit. (Career Builder, Poll in 2012) </li><li>81 % of respondents agreed that\r\ncultural fit, not the time and cost to hire of a role, is the most important\r\nrecruitment factor. While 11 % disagreed saying that priorities can vary\r\ndepending on the company and sector. (TMP HR Pulse survey) </li><li>78 % of respondents believe\r\nthat organisations and hiring managers do not assess for culture fit because\r\nthey do not know how to do it. (Development Dimensions International, Research\r\nPaper) </li><li>67 % of job seekers say that\r\nfinding a company with similar values to their own is important. Corporate\r\nculture was the top priority when applying for a job, leaving market presence,\r\nfinancial performance and longevity behind. (RoundPegg survey)  </li></ul><p><strong>Here are some strategies as to how a company can hire\r\nfor culture fit:</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong style=\"background-color: initial;\">1)&nbsp;</strong>Make sure you know what the\r\ncore culture of the organisation is. If you don’t know it yet write a\r\nmission/vision statement. Ask yourself: What is most important to the company?\r\nWhat are the companies values, principles, belief systems, habits, vision,\r\nnorms, working language, symbols, written and unwritten rules, traditions,\r\ncustoms?&nbsp;</p><p><strong style=\"background-color: initial;\">2)&nbsp;</strong>Ask the right questions. Behaviour\r\nbased questions will reflect past behaviours and reveal future behaviours,\r\nwhile other questions will tell you what the candidate’s values and priorities\r\nare. For example:</p><ul><li>Please describe the working\r\nenvironment that would allow you to give your best. </li><li>Is there anything that would\r\nmake it difficult for you to perform to your full potential? </li><li>How would your perfect working\r\nday look like? What would you do and what would you want to avoid? </li><li>If you choose to work for a\r\ncompany, what is your priority with regard to that business and its culture? </li><li>What do you appreciate the most\r\nin your daily job at your current company? </li><li>Are there any episodes at your\r\ncurrent employer which have disappointed you with regard to their corporate\r\nculture? </li><li>What is your attitude regarding\r\nteamwork/flexible working hours and risk taking? </li></ul><p><strong>3)</strong> Bear in mind that an interview is a two-way process and that a\r\nsmart jobseeker might also want to test your answers with regard to culture\r\nfit. Be prepared to answer questions, such as: </p><ul>\r\n<li>What would you change about\r\nthis company if you could do it? Why? </li><li>How did this job vacancy become\r\navailable? </li><li>How does your company reward\r\nsuccess and how are mistakes being dealt with? </li><li>Jobseekers\r\ndo their research and often find useful information about a company’s culture\r\nby reading a company’s Twitter tweets, looking at the company’s Facebook page,\r\nreading the latest corporate news and what other third party review sites have\r\nto say. </li></ul><p><strong>4)</strong> Make sure the focus is on the candidate’s compatibility with the\r\ncore values of the company and not the recruiter’s values. The person should be\r\nin sync with the job position, the work atmosphere, management and corporate\r\ngoals.</p><p><strong>5)</strong> Offer insights into your company in a visual or audio format.\r\nLet other employees share what it feels like working for your company and share\r\nwhat their jobs and experiences have been so far. Publishing pictures and\r\nvideos on social media sites is one method of doing it. </p><p><strong>6)</strong>  Offer different types of\r\nsocial get-togethers, for example trial work periods for a limited time, social\r\nmeetings after an interview, etc. can be considered too. It will show the\r\ncandidate in a different scenario which can be more revealing than one might\r\nthink. Furthermore, company’s employees will be able to tell straight away\r\nwhether the person is a good fit or not. </p><p><strong>7)</strong> Check the candidates references by not just focusing on their\r\npast work performance but by getting relevant information which reassures their\r\ncultural fit in your company. </p><p>If the culture\r\nfactor is being ignored it will lead to a toxic environment among other team\r\nmembers, and people will leave after some time because they feel unsatisfied.\r\nThis will have a negative impact on both the employer as well as the employee:\r\nwaste of time, money and lost opportunities for progression. It is very\r\ndifficult (or even impossible) to make people change their values, it is\r\nsomething that you can’t just train or develop in a couple of hours. Even\r\nRichard Branson stated once “Most skills can be learned, but it is difficult to\r\ntrain people on their personality.” That explains why many companies hire first\r\nfor culture and plan to train for skill later on. However, getting candidates\r\nwho are a great job fit as well as culture fit right from the start are always\r\nthe best option. </p><p>If you hire\r\npeople who believe in your products/services, share your vision and embrace\r\nyour values, you will work with talents who are self-motivated, give more than\r\n100 % and help you to achieve your corporate goals quicker and better. Who\r\nwould not wish for that? When hiring people your main concern should not just\r\nbe “Is the person able to carry out the job?” but “Will this person fit nicely\r\ninto the company’s team?” It cannot be emphasised enough that culture fit is\r\nnot just crucial when it comes to the attraction but also the development and\r\nretention of future employees. Also in the future it will remain the key to\r\nhiring success and lead to the highly sought-after ‘competitive advantage’.&nbsp;</p>"},"authorName":"Karin Schroeck-Singh","authorBio":{"authorBio":"Karin Schroeck-Singh is a passionate Public Speaker, eBook Author, and a freelancing Online Content Producer. She has an MBA from the University of Leicester (UK) and gained 18 years of international work experience in Italy, the UK and India."},"publishedOn":"2015-03-11T15:07:41.167Z"}},"pageContext":{"id":"579ca40f-ee1e-5575-af44-2ad2fbc4a716"}},
    "staticQueryHashes": []}