Blog

When hiring for tech roles, you need people to be fit for the job, meaning the person you’re hiring must actually have the capacity to do the job. For example, you need to be sure that your tech candidates know certain programming languages, they can navigate certain software, etc. However, these specific skill sets should not be the only competencies for which you evaluate your technology candidates. While job fit is important, cultural fit is a completely different matter and is arguably just as important.

The cost of bad hire is much higher than you think, especially when it comes to software developers. So, how do you assess something much less tangible and far more subjective, such as cultural fit, while you can verify each candidate’s technical skills through assignments, technical interviews?

What is cultural fit and why is it important?

In its most basic form, cultural fit is where an employee’s beliefs, values, and behaviors parallel or closely align with their employer’s beliefs, values, and behaviors.

Hiring employees who want the company to be successful is crucial to success. Enthusiastic employees perform better, stay longer, and get more job satisfaction. An employee who doesn’t fit the culture can quickly become a rotten apple and cause a turmoil for the rest of the team and beyond. Hiring for cultural fit does not mean hiring the same type of people over and over again. Members must be turned into a workforce that contributes to the company in diverse ways.

While 82% of recruiters believe that measuring cultural fit is important, only 32% of them actually do so. Yet, most hires fail not because of a lack of technical skills, but attitudinal reasons and poor cultural fit. Therefore, cultural fit is very important for:

Improving recruitment quality. Hiring employees matching the company culture instantly increases the value they add to the company and provides better long-term success.

The reduction and prevention of employee turnover. Employees who are satisfied with their jobs, believe in what they are doing and feel connected to their workplace interact with the team. The same is true for the opposite.

To increase employee satisfaction and loyalty. Employees whose values ​​match the values ​​of the company are more committed to their jobs and will go beyond to achieve excellent results.

To increase productivity. Happy, engaged and productive teams that live and breathe the core values ​​of the company produce better results.

5 ways to assess cultural fit in your tech candidates

• Use an evaluation

A company sets its corporate culture benchmarks according to the Competitor Values ​​Framework and compares candidates’ preferences through a cultural fit assessment. Take candidates, who will easily and seamlessly fit into your company culture, to the next level.

• Ask the right interview questions

You can learn a lot more about the candidate and their mutual compatibility with your company by asking the right cultural fit questions and how they worked in previous companies. You also get an idea of ​​their work ethic, values ​​and priorities.

• Be prepared to answer questions

You also need to be prepared for candidates’ questions about company culture, mission, vision and values. Make sure you know what your company stands for.

• Let candidates meet the team

Letting candidates and team members to interact with each other will allow both sides to learn about each other and how to work together.

• Provide an in-depth look at your company

Let potential candidates take a behind-the-scenes look at your company by including them in interviews or realistic job previews with a variety of workers.

Tech workers are difficult to hire, and good candidates are few. Therefore, you cannot afford to make mistakes like hiring candidates solely based on their technical skills. Instead, assessing both fitness for the job fit and cultural fit will help you make sure that you are hiring the right person who will be a happy and productive employee in your company.

Source: DevSkiller