Many organizations are still hiring for “cultural fit.” In fact, this has been one of the biggest trends in talent acquisition over the last two decades. Culture fit is defined as the alignment between an individual’s beliefs, attitudes and background and the organizational culture — its values, work environment and customs. If you are looking to build a more diverse and inclusive culture, hiring based on cultural fit may be at odds with your diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Let’s take a deeper look at why you need to stop hiring for cultural fit.
Hire to “add” not to “fit.”
Many of us have hired candidates — or have been hired ourselves — based on entirely subjective qualifications that fall under the “culture fit” umbrella. Chief among these is likability. On the surface, this seems harmless, and even natural: We want to like the people we work with and work for. After all, large chunks of our lives are spent with co-workers, and we want that experience to be as pleasant as possible. While the definition of culture fit varies from company to company, likability is a common denominator, and is often the dominant factor when determining if someone fits into the company culture. And that is a problem.
We all feel much more comfortable with those who share a similar background to ours, and hiring choices are too often a means of assuring that comfort. When a hiring manager expresses their affinity for a person, what is too often at play is that the candidate actually mirrors that hiring manager’s own demographic and socioeconomic identity. Being drawn to people who are like us in some way is called affinity bias, a type of unconscious bias that we all have. Affinity bias leads to groupthink and decreases innovation and thinking outside the box.
So, instead of looking at how a person fits into your culture, you should be thinking about how they add to your culture. Will they bring different solutions to the table? Different perspectives? Will they help you innovate and create different products or solutions? Hiring employees based on what they add to your culture increases diversity and innovation while also challenging the status quo.
Hiring to “fit” may be discriminatory and can decrease diversity and inclusion.
The language associated with culture fit can also lead to discriminatory hiring practices. For example, one of the more popular phrases found in today’s job postings is “digital native,” as in, “We’re a bootstrap startup looking for digital natives to join our team.” The phrase “digital native” refers to those who were born into our current age of smartphones and social media. The goal in targeting this demographic is to find candidates who are comfortable with all of the latest trends in consumer technology. The signal this phrase sends, however, is that candidates over a certain age are not welcome.
The phrasing used to showcase the social aspects of a company’s culture can also send signals that may discourage a diverse candidate pool. For example, touting your company’s after-work or in-office happy hours may cause candidates whose religious or personal beliefs prohibit them from consuming alcohol — not to mention working parents or even introverts — to look elsewhere.
Of course, the images a company uses on its website and on social media channels to showcase its people and culture may also send similar messages. Creating a more diverse web and social media presence where potential employees see themselves represented sends a positive message that your organization is a welcoming and inclusive environment.
Let’s reimagine culture fit.
To create and maintain a diverse and inclusive culture, it helps to define your organization’s culture in terms of how it aligns with the company’s business goals and professional values. When looking for candidates, think about the characteristics and experiences that will add to and make for a better work environment. This involves taking a different approach to the troublesome concept of “likability” by putting positive characteristics that are measurable in the foreground. Candidates who are caring, courageous, active listeners, critical thinkers, collaborative, curious and who actively mentor and demonstrate personal responsibility are a vital part of any workplace’s culture. An organization can recruit for and screen for candidates like this by rethinking their end-to-end hiring process and include the use of behavior-based questions to determine whether or not a candidate will be a valuable addition to the team. Defining and realigning your company’s culture in such a way can make it a more welcoming, inclusive and productive place for all.