How to Hire for Culture Fit

As a hiring manager, boss or CEO it’s your responsibility to assess what qualifies as a good cultural fit for your organization. Your goal is to find a candidate whose values, behaviors, qualifications, and ethics align with the organization’s. The most successful hires will fit both the job and workplace culture.  Every hire you make can impact the dynamic of your organization and individual teams.

So how do you find the perfect hire? And, how do you identify them in the hiring process? The key is adding culture-based recruiting into your hiring process. Below, we offer insight on how you can find the best talent acquisitions moving forward with culture-based recruiting.

Identify your culture and what you are looking for. Before you can decide if someone is the perfect fit, you must first determine the culture of your business. Is the office environment relaxed or more formal? Is it team-oriented, or do employees work more independently? These are key questions to ask yourself when identifying your company culture. Defining your culture will guide you in determining what type of employee will be most successful working at your organization.

Get creative with your job descriptions. Your jobs ads are the first impression your company will make to potential employees. Your job descriptions should present what type of candidate you’re looking for, but also be crafted in a way that will attract the right cultural fit for your organization.

Review your current list of interview questions. To find someone that fits your company culture, you will need to prepare and ask the right questions during the interview process. This is an important step you will need to take in hiring for cultural fit. Asking the right questions that align with your mission, values, and purpose will lead you to finding talent that will fit, enjoy, and be successful on your team.

Need some help coming up with great cultural questions? Try asking questions such as…

  1. What type of work environment did you work in previously and what did you like/dislike about it?
  2. What do you do in your free time?
  3. What motivates you to do your best work?
  4. Describe your dream job.
  5. What tools allow you to work more efficiently?
  6. How do you communicate with coworkers?
  7. Why did you choose to apply here?

These questions will help drill down into the way a candidate works and will help you find the perfect fit to fulfill the job qualifications.

Once the interview is complete and you feel they were a good fit, check references. Take advantage of this step, and ask questions based on the type of work environment the candidate previously worked in. Checking references can provide clarity on responses you received from the interview process.

Invest in onboarding. According to Workable, 20% of employees leave within their first 45 days in a new job. There are many reasons for this, from not receiving direction or encouragement from their boss to not fitting in well with the team. Upon hiring, it’s important to give proper leadership afterward too.

You can do this by welcoming new hires with an onboarding experience that is on brand with your company culture.

Here are some onboarding for new hires…

  1. Call and congratulate new hires. This will set the tone of their long-term relationships.
  2. Send a surprise package. This could include company swag, a gift, and a handwritten thank-you note for joining the team.
  3. Do something nice for them. On their first day tame them out to lunch with the team.
  4. Send a new hire itinerary. An outline of the week will set them up for success.
  5. Announce the new hire to the team. Email the team a short bio of the new hire and their LinkedIn profile. This allows your team to reach out and welcome this employee.
  6. Be prepared. It’s your time to shine. Being unprepared could show your new hire that you don’t care.  

Hiring a new employee is an exciting time! Remember that it’s not only about the position you are looking to fill, but the people who will make that role successful and bring value to your business and team.

Are you searching for recruiting solutions? You’re in the right place. Let Capstone Search Advisors improve your candidate sourcing, interviewing, and applicant tracking for a streamlined hiring process.

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