You have a job opening and you need to hire a new team member. You’ve started your recruitment process, interviewed and met with some excellent candidates who have the skills to get the job done, but have you considered how well they will fit into your team?

Before you commit to a decision based on gut feel, it’s worth considering using a data-driven approach to measure; Job Fit, screening candidates who fit the requirements of the role and Culture Fit, to highlight differences in the candidates’ values and expectations with what your team will offer. This valuable information could save you a lot of time and money!

Job fit is much more than whether a candidate’s background and experience align with the job description, and they’re able to carry out the responsibilities of the role. Personal attributes or ‘traits’ that define someone’s personality and their approach to work situations, also help to determine whether a candidate will be a good fit for the job or not. The concept of ‘Job Fit’ helps an employer see beyond a person’s capabilities and focus on how they’ll actually perform in a specific role.

Employees who are well-suited to their roles are naturally happier and more productive, which can have a positive impact on company morale and ultimately benefits a company’s bottom line. Hiring people who are the best fit for their positions is also a great way for an organisation to reduce employee turnover and improve retention rates.

Hiring someone who is capable of getting the job done is just a starting point though, you should also consider if these individuals are the right Cultural Fit for the organisation – Both Job Fit and Culture Fit should be assessed throughout a hiring process.

To evaluate Culture Fit during the interview and hiring process, you need to ask the candidate questions relating to the values and culture of the organisation they are being hired into. To do so, you need to first have an understanding and define exactly what the ‘culture’ of the organisation or group is.

At its core, company culture is in the shared values, behaviours and actions that define the experience of a team member. It’s how things get done around the workplace and the only way to truly identify what a company’s culture is is to ask its employees. This is best done using surveys specifically tailored to assess organisational psychology.

There are many different factors that contribute to a company’s culture; communication, leadership & decision making within the business, employee engagement and recognition of employee contributions. Matching a person to a job which they are capable of performing is important; however, matching a person to a team with which they are compatible is just as vital!

A good Culture fit can positively impact a person’s productivity and performance, as well as personal wellbeing. A meta-analysis investigating consequences of individuals’ fit at work, reveals there is a positive correlation between an employee’s culture fit within an organisation and the employee’s longevity at a company. When a person has increased job satisfaction, they are more committed to their role and organisation and thus, more likely to remain in the business.

It’s worth understanding the risks and negative outcomes of not considering Culture Fit when recruiting. Hiring employees that don’t fit well with an organisation’s culture and values may cause lower job satisfaction and affect mental health. This in turn will lead to a decrease in productivity, higher turnover rates and increased costs of re-hiring and training.

Whether you’re looking for candidates with the right skills or Cultural Fit, data plays a vital role in every step of the process. Instead of relying on human diligence alone, a data-driven approach can bring unique benefits such as;

• Access to a larger talent pool
• Eliminates bias
• Reduces the time to fill a position
• Improves productivity and efficiency
• Enhances objective hiring
• Increases your quality of hire

Hiring the perfect employee is not a simple task. Being aware of the different factors that contribute to an employee’s commitment to an organisation and its values is. To optimise your candidate selection, consider embedding a Culture fit assessment into your hiring process to avoid wasting anyone’s time by carrying the wrong candidates forward to interview or beyond.

With access to key insights and suggested interview questions gathered from Job Fit suitability and Cultural preference results, you can supercharge your selection criteria, increase interview to offer conversions with diagnosed misalignments and boost offer to acceptance ratios.