A discussion on culture fit and cracking the secret sauce for lasting hires

Culture Fit is a crucial part of my recruitment efforts, yet the formula for determining it is highly subjective. I’ll dive deep into how I find a great culture fit and what steps I take to analyze, measure, and feel my way through a solid company culture fit versus one that feels off.

The beginning of the process starts with deep observation, note-taking, and understanding of my client’s needs. By asking detailed questions about their needs and company style, I can learn more about their values (or what they value), their company dynamics and communication styles, and their work environment. Observing, learning, and finding out how they do what they do is critical for me to find a candidate and employee for them that matches both their style, dynamics, culture, and requirements.

I’m looking for alignment between the company’s style, culture, and interpersonal dynamics and the candidate’s previous track record. Alignment comes from the synergy of a candidate’s values, energy levels, work style, behaviors, mannerisms, and personality with the company’s core principles, team vibe, and how they normally operate and communicate with one another.

I look for a shared ethos. There needs to be convergence between values. 

For example, when a client tells me they have a “hard-working, roll-up-your-sleeves, find-a-way-to-get-it-done company culture,” I look for candidates who have experience solving complex problems, going the extra mile in their previous work performance, and exhibiting sacrifices they personally made for the benefit of their company. I ask the candidates screening questions like, “Tell me about a time when you didn’t think you would hit your deadline, but you managed to accomplish it before time ran out?” or “Tell me about a time you had to solve a problem immediately because there was no time to waste. What was the problem? How did you solve it? What was the result?” I can determine a lot by asking specific questions about “Tell me about a time when…” because if the candidate can’t remember a specific experience, that tells me they either aren’t ready, prepared enough, or aren’t committed enough for my client’s company culture.

I will also ask about previous success in different companies from the candidate’s past experiences. Where did you thrive? Why? What led to success? Where did you have a challenging time? What happened and why? I learn a lot about how candidates work well (or don’t work well) with others by the way they answer those questions. I notice their tone, style, cadence, energy levels, and whether they get defensive or take accountability. In all of those answers, there is the golden goose of alignment or the sour, rotten apple of misalignment with my client’s culture.

Style points matter in alignment on culture. For example, suppose a hiring manager is buttoned-up, very professional, uses deep vocabulary from an academic setting, and is calculated yet optimistic with me on the intake call. When I talk with the prospective candidates, I’m looking for a similar style of expansive language usage, polished appearance and speech, along with an upbeat and positive cadence in their communications.

My intuition guides me. More often than not, I’m feeling my way through the candidate discussions to determine if the candidate’s values, communication style, polish, and professionalism are similar to or the same as my client’s (the hiring manager). Intuition comes from failure in the past, learning from mistakes, and invaluable lessons that can be attributed to time under pressure and historical experience in my role.

Energy levels are another critical piece of the puzzle when I’m talking with candidates. Were they upbeat and enthusiastic? Did they make good eye contact? Did they have an authentic smile or a forced smile? What were their mannerisms when they responded to my questions? I can learn more from their non-verbal cues than most folks realize. Yes, these can be considered judgments on my part, but I need to be able to discern culture fit.

I don’t often use personality tests like the DISC profile or Workplace Alignment Assessments because these are subjective tests that can be “gamed”, but they have their place in the hiring process if my client wants to use them. These can be used as checks and balances in the process. If the client believes a candidate has a certain alignment in style or personality, they can give the person the DISC profile to determine if it confirms their judgments. If the result is close to the ideal profile, there is alignment. It’s only when it’s the opposite or not close at all to their ideal profile that the candidate needs to be examined even further.

Also, one hiring manager’s point of view isn’t likely enough to determine full alignment. There needs to be some sort of consensus from the team that this person is aligned, and that occurs when other team members interview the person separately. Many candidates don’t like long interview processes, but my best clients interview enough times to find alignment and cohesive character traits, style, and values so that they don’t have to hire for the same role again in the future.

After several different team members interview the person, they can sit down in a meeting and rate the candidate’s culture fit using a 1-to-10 scale or an A-through-F scale on culture fit. If there is alignment there, that can be quite helpful in finding the consistency that the candidate could work well with everyone on the team.

My special sauce likely boils down to where preparation meets my intuition and is backed up by some verifiable evidence: Preparation + Intuition + Evidence.

This takes several different meetings in different settings, asking questions in variable ways to make sure the candidate is in the present moment—being both honest and truthful, not acting, digging deep into their experiences, creative yet prepared, 100% authentic, fully answering questions, and asking thoughtful questions to the hiring team.