Culture Fit vs Skillset: Which One Joins the Recruitment League?

An age-old debate in psychology – nature versus nurture – still continues to be relevant in contemporary times. The idea that our inherited traits or the environment shape our development and growth has been mulled over and theorized by ancient political thinkers, philosophers, scientists, and psychologists amongst others. A widely accepted conclusion has been that perhaps both are important influences shaping the course of development.

When an employee joins an organization, they might be set in the ways that they view the world, their beliefs, values, and opinions. The cultural worldview might be solidified by their developmental influences. However, the skill set that they acquire and assimilate while on the job would be different. Both these influences interact and produce results. Yet, it is often debated as to which element gains more prominence in determining employee success – a cultural fit or an acquired skill set.?

Iceberg Model of Culture?

Edward Hall posited that the culture of organizations resembles an iceberg, with its apparent disproportionality in visibility. Just like an iceberg that has merely ten percent of its area visible over the water surface, organizational culture encompasses elements that are beyond practical measures.?

The domains that are evident from the outside comprise the “surface culture” whereas the submerged foundational elements form the “deeper culture.” Aspects such as perks and benefits, dress codes, policies, rewards, and language form part of the surface culture. Employees get acquainted with this and the get-go. Deeper culture includes the foundational values and belief systems over which an organization was formed. These aspects are harder to define. They include domains like health and well-being, authority, purpose and mission statement of the company, communication patterns etc. It also has employee engagement methods, emphasis on learning and development, collaboration, and teamwork, amongst others.?

Culture Fit Hiring

Once the aspects of a company’s surface and deeper culture are defined, ideally its strategies, decisions, and actions should support those – especially the HR mechanisms involved in the recruitment and hiring process. A culture-fit recruitment strategy would seek employees whose values and beliefs align with the organization.?

Forbes reports that employees who are culturally aligned with their workplaces had better job satisfaction, show superior job performance, and have low attrition rates. This also becomes more crucial during periods of uncertainty and volatility, such as the pandemic. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that poor culture fit due to turnover can cost an organization between 50-60% of the person’s annual salary.?

This cultural assessment might seem simple, yet it poses multiple challenges. One of them is the fundamental question we began with – culture fit or skillset?

Concerns and Challenges?

The desire to hire people who align with the characteristics or values of your organization is understandable. However, if not done right, this may lead to a creation of a workplace that is homogenous and lacks diversity. Unconscious biases can play out, as interviewers may seek personal connections with employees instead of identifying common cultural values. Often, the colloquial ‘beer test’ has been used to caution against the uninformed use of this approach. Here, recruiters may end up choosing the candidate they could see themselves enjoying having a beer with.?

To illustrate this with an example - an executive mentioned that they do not hire people who wear suits as they would not work out for the atmosphere of their team. This notion may muddle up the idea of culture fit, as wearing casual outfits does not make one better or more skilled at their job. This may also end up passing judgment on candidates and making decisions based on generalized beliefs.?

The Bottom Line?

Priporisting culture fit over the skillset and ability of an employee may not be ideal. It loses out on the right kind of talent on the basis of biases that aren’t fruitful in the long run. Employees may also grow to be accustomed to the work of an organization. Patty McCord writes for the Harvard Business Review that hiring an unconventional yet extremely skilled employee for Netflix made them wonder whether he would be able to assimilate into the organizational culture and work with the team. However, his genius and technical know-how made him stand out regardless of his different work practices. This proves that organizations can adapt to many people’s styles as long as they are skilled at what they do. Thus, while cultural fit may be desirable, other factors like competencies and developed skill sets cannot be ignored. The talent and diligent work in the end conquers all!