What Does It Mean To Be a Good Cultural Fit?

December 30th, 2013

Cultural fit is an over-used, yet vastly misunderstood, term utilized by corporate America.  Companies all over work very hard during the hiring process to determine whether or not a candidate is a “good cultural fit” for their company and/or department.

However, it is not up to the company to determine this.  It is the candidate.  The only way that the company or hiring manager can know is if the candidate tells them.

You see, a fit between company and the employee is something that only employee can know.  Only the person himself can know how well he can mesh with the already established structure.

High-caliber candidates fit in any organization.  The real question is whether, or not, they are motivated to fit.  If the person is motivated, then there will be a cultural fit.

This is why there needs to be one last planned meeting to judge motivation (and therefore fit).  During this meeting the company has to be in full-disclosure mode, giving the candidate as much information as he needs to determine his level of fit.  A candidate can only do this if he gets a good feel for the environment, management style, challenges, hurdles as well as things that need to get down.

This meeting is extremely important in judging a candidate’s motivation level.

The key for the company is to select high caliber candidates.  Lower level candidates cannot control their environment as much; they do not have the luxury of picking and choosing their job assignments.  High quality candidates do.  If they are motivated to come on board, then they will be motivated to adapt to the corporate culture.

Remember, the candidate has much more risk than the company does.  If the potential employee is an active candidate, then he is looking for a job.  If the person is employed, then he has something to lose…his current situation.  Therefore, it is extremely important to determine the candidate’s motivation in changing positions – of even entertaining the idea of changing positions.

If you attempt to avoid this situation, and only focus on active candidates, you are preselecting yourself out of a good portion of the talent pool.

At Honer and Associates, we can help you find the high-quality candidates you need.  We are experts at determining the motivation level of all candidates, and can help you devise a hiring process that is guaranteed success in brining on the best and brightest to your organization.  So contact us today!  We look forward to hearing from you.