How Recruiters Find the Right Culture Fit

Hiring is one of the most important and challenging obstacles that employers face today. As a long-time recruiter I would like to share a few important criteria I consider when I am evaluating a candidate’s potential fit for my client. 

​Finding a cultural fit match in hiring.

​Of course, you need to find the right technical skills, industry relevancy and appropriate experience level or education. But there are soft skills to consider too, such as communication, creativity, emotional intelligence, maturity in their experience, and career goals. These soft skills are every bit as important because they can play a critical role in a potential employee’s ability to succeed.

Research increasingly shows that hiring people for “cultural fit” (seeking out individuals who align with your company’s unique culture and values) is an essential part of effective strategic hiring. My own recruiting experience backs this premise. Over my 45 years in the recruiting industry, I’ve found that the most important factor in hiring isn’t technical skills. 

Why is Cultural Fit Important?
A stellar cultural fit can bridge the gap for a candidate that falls just short of the level of technical qualifications that an employer is seeking. This is one reason employers are beginning to truly understand the power of finding a candidate that aligns with their company culture, especially in today’s tight hiring market.

When I’m evaluating a candidate on whether to submit them to a client, I want to be confident that the person can succeed, be valued, and make an impact on a client’s organization. Often clients want to provide the resources and tools to help employees get better at their jobs, but I tell clients all the time, “You can’t teach someone to align with your cultural values.” Getting clients to focus on finding and fostering a cultural fit is every bit as important as seeking and developing a good technical match. Yet, some clients are only focused on finding a candidate that fits their needs today instead of hiring to achieve long-term success. It requires a change in mindset, but the payoff can be huge!

Looking for candidates that are a good culture match increases the odds that you will find someone who:

• Wants to join a work family.
• Works well with others.
• Values people.
• Understands their employer’s priorities and goals.
• Looks out for their employer’s best interests first.

​These kinds of candidates are going to be your best bet to consider at all levels of the organization, but especially for leadership roles! If this sounds like what your company is looking for, our team of experienced recruiters can help you reach your company’s goals. 

Find out more about our recruiting services!

Want to know how to build cultural fit into your recruiting and hiring processes? Here are my top tips:

How to Find a Culture Fit
>Define your Culture
Formally define what culture is for your organization and what it will mean to a recruitment strategy. Share that during the interview process and after the new employee starts. Rely on your company vision and mission to define what a great culture fit is for your organization. Then live it, talk about it, and embrace it. 

State your culture in your mission statement to make it as clear as possible internally and externally. I have a lot of potential candidates that do their due diligence and ask me, “What does the company stand for? I don’t see that on their website or LinkedIn profile anywhere.” When I am recruiting for a new client, this is one of many questions that I ask the hiring manager or HR so I can find the best candidate on the market today.

If your mission statement does not include how you perceive, treat, and mentor your employees, you may want to rethink your mission statement.  Including culture in your mission statement and then making sure it’s implemented and adhered to will have an impact on your recruiting efforts to better attract and retain employees.

>Ask The Right Questions
The interview is the most critical part of my recruiting process because it allows me to determine how the candidate will fit with my clients. It is not just about assessing a candidate’s accomplishments or skills (that’s easy!) – it’s evaluating who they are as an employee. I use that to look for a match with how a client values the intangible elements of a candidate’s personality and values.

Using modified, open-ended questions like these is helpful:

• What do you value most at work?
• What do you like most about working on a team?
• Can you give an example of when you went out of your way to help a coworker or create a positive experience for a customer?

Remember, interviews are a two-way street. I tell my candidates that they should ask questions about culture so they can get an idea of how successful they can be, what impact they will have, how they will be mentored and grow with the company. Employers should be prepared to answer these types of questions earnestly.

>Be Natural
Before their interview no matter what level or position I am recruiting for I tell my candidates to be yourself and have fun. Clients should do the same! Candidates will always appreciate a conversational interview versus a question-and-answer interview.

In the interview process think beyond the traditional locations. Remember, interviews don’t always need to take place across a table in a conference room or at your desk in your office. At least for the first round of interviews you may want to be in the break room, on a tour of the facility, or in a coffee house. I tell my candidates to ask for a tour so they can visualize where they will be sitting when they are at work, and this is typically well received.

Regardless of where it takes place, try to have candidates meet their prospective teams and potential teammates. Give them 5-10 minutes with the most senior person on the team and the same for the newest member on the team.  These are the people they’ll be working with every day, so you should try to get a little feedback from them as well so you can make the best decision for your team.

Culture Fit Is Not an Excuse to Discriminate
It’s extremely important to remember where diversity fits into this equation. Hiring for culture fit comes down to making sure employees treat coworkers with the respect that your company values. What culture fit doesn’t mean is dismissing personal values you don’t agree with or overlooking different cultures and lifestyles simply because they are not heavily represented within the company yet.For example: If the team is young, please don’t discount a mature person thinking they are not a cultural fit.  They may very well bring just the personality that the team needs because they have children the same age as the rest of the team and know best how to work with people that age and how to pass their knowledge on to them. 

Managers and HR should review culture fit-based decisions to ensure you're not accidentally building a team of people who all think, look, and act the exact same way. You want your people to be united by your company’s shared mission, but offer cognitive diversity, different social and political beliefs, and varying backgrounds to push your team to actually achieve it – tackling problems in new ways, thinking outside the box and ultimately bringing your culture to life.

When you need help hiring in accounting and finance, please reach out to us! We have a team of recruiters who are highly experienced with hiring for mid-to-management level accounting and finance roles. Contact us today to find out more about how we can find the best candidate for your needs!

About the Author
Perry Paden – Recruiter, TheASPTeam

​Perry brings over forty years of recruiting experience to TheASPTeam. Upon graduating high school, Perry served in the US Navy as a Hospital Corpsman. He has traveled the world, both in the Navy and his career, traveling to Europe, Asia, Australia, India, and many other regions. Perry began his career in recruiting, spending four years in Salt Lake City recruiting medical professionals and never looked back. Joining TheASPTeam fits with Perry’s purpose to help organizations recruit top accounting and finance professionals while giving his candidates the career progression and culture fit they deserve.

---