“Culture Fit” is Bull$%!t

Culture fit sure sounds like a good idea. If alignment is the point, how could hiring for alignment be bad? If you onboard a new employee who already shares your company’s values, they’re guaranteed to fit in and help your business achieve its goals — right?

What sounds promising in concept looks different in practice. Like a lot of big ideas, culture fit seems right, but when leveraged by human beings — each with their own preferences, priorities, and biases — it doesn’t guarantee success so much as stagnate progress.?

Homogeneity and other flaws with “fitting in”

The primary problem with culture fit is one of human nature. Familiarity is comfortable, and people place high value on their own comfort, so we tend to connect easily with people like us. But when we limit our interactions to the same people — or the same type of person — we eliminate opportunities to learn, empathize, and examine the human experience from other perspectives. When this happens in business, the company culture reflects some unpleasant values, including exclusivity, bias, and homogeneity.

What does it mean to “fit in” at your company? Does everyone look, think, and act the same? Does everyone go to the same church, shop in the same stores, and vote for the same candidates? Is it a set of well-defined professional qualifications and shared values — or is it a shallow, nebulous combination of personal preference and perceived compatibility?

Done wrong, hiring for culture fit is an extension of the cliquish, adolescent forced compliance we know as “peer pressure.” An ill-defined company culture can slip into unhealthy habits, such as favoring job candidates who laugh at your jokes or cheer for your favorite team. Subjective employment criteria set the stage for awkward speculation about the “real reasons” for your company’s hiring choices.?

Culture has value(s)

A company’s culture is its character. Culture is commonly defined as “a set of shared values, goals, attitudes, and practices,” but it must also be recognized as living, growing, and subject to change. Hiring for culture fit — absent a solid company culture — is a useful cover for bias or simple dislike.

Creating a healthy company culture is an intentional, strategic process. It begins with self-reflection. Who defines the values of your organization? Who gets to contribute, and who gets left out? Once values are defined, how will you communicate them to employees and job candidates? How will hiring policies and procedures reflect them? Examine current policies and procedures in the harsh light of day, make a thorough assessment, and decide what needs changing. Define and communicate values clearly, and reevaluate regularly to ensure they show up in meaningful, measurable ways.

Culture is not the problem, and discarding it is an invitation to chaos. Culture fit is plagued by lazy interpretation and questionable execution, but the concept is sound if/when it is supported by a healthy company culture. Done right, culture fit maps hiring criteria to the qualities and qualifications required to deliver on business outcomes.?

“Culture add” for added value

Inclusive hiring practices are less about “fitting in” than adding to your company’s culture and capabilities. Instead of questioning whether you like a candidate, ask what they can bring to your team. Do they have valuable skills, experience, or perspectives that would help your company meet its goals and deliver on its business objectives?

This is “culture add.” Culture fit risks relying on opinion, personal preference, and implicit — or even explicit — bias, and it frequently results in homogeneity, but culture add is inclusive by nature.?

At its best, company culture is inclusive and forged by a shared connection to mission and purpose. A healthy culture is fluid and dynamic. In this age of long overdue inclusivity — with business learning to value diversity — the homogeneity and stagnation frequently produced by culture fit is, at best, a bad look. Culture add values inclusivity and diversity of experience, perspective, and knowledge. It fosters collaboration, innovation, and growth. These are ideal cornerstones for a real, rich company culture — one in which “fitting in” is a value worth sharing.

To learn more about creating an inclusive, intentional company culture, visit terrastaffinggroup.com.?