How do you evaluate vendor fit with your company culture?

1 Define your culture

Before you look for vendors, you need to have a clear understanding of your own company culture. What are your mission, vision, and values? How do you communicate, collaborate, and make decisions? What are your standards for quality, ethics, and innovation? How do you measure and reward performance? Write down your culture statement and share it with your team and potential vendors.

2 Research vendor profiles

Next, you need to research the vendor's profile and reputation. You can use various sources, such as their website, social media, reviews, testimonials, referrals, and awards. Look for information that reveals their culture, such as their history, mission, values, policies, practices, and achievements. How do they describe themselves and their services? How do they interact with their clients and stakeholders? How do they handle feedback and complaints?

3 Conduct interviews

Evaluating vendor fit is best accomplished by conducting interviews with the vendor's representatives. Different formats, such as phone calls, video calls, or face-to-face meetings, can be used to have a conversation that explores the vendor's culture and expectations. Questions should be asked such as what their core values and principles are, how they approach projects and challenges, how they communicate and collaborate with clients and team members, how they deal with changes, risks, and issues, how they ensure quality and compliance, and how they measure and report results and satisfaction.

4 Compare and contrast

After you interview several vendors, you need to compare and contrast their fit with your company culture. You can use a scoring system, a matrix, or a checklist to rank and rate the vendors based on the criteria you defined. You can also solicit feedback from your team members who were involved in the vendor selection process. Look for similarities and differences between the vendors and your company. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of each vendor. Consider the benefits and risks of working with each vendor.

5 Make a decision

Finally, you need to make a decision based on your evaluation of vendor fit. You should not base your decision solely on vendor fit, but also on other factors, such as cost, quality, availability, and reliability. However, vendor fit can be a decisive factor when you have to choose between vendors who offer similar services and prices. You should select a vendor who shares your culture, or at least respects and adapts to it. You should also communicate your decision clearly and respectfully to the vendors, and explain the reasons for your choice.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?