The (Mis)Value of Cultural Fit in Hiring

A common question asked by those looking into the Core Values Index assessment for hiring at their company is, "Will the CVI help us find candidates that are a good cultural fit?"

This is a valid question and it is one that I hope all companies ask. Cultural fit matters, but not in the way we expect.

We dynamically change our expectations and standards during the screening process, unwitting victims of our subconcious emotional needs. We are drawn to those most like us and make hidden justifications for why they are the prefered candidate, often using professional-sounding excuses that they represent a better cultural fit.

In many ways, it's just well-meaning intellectual calisthenics. The proclaimed motivation is valid—we want to hire those who will fit in. We want to get along with our coworkers. This is a worthwhile goal, we're just going about it in the wrong way.

Instead of pursuing candidates that we feel will fit into the current company culture, we should focus instead on objective measures of fit for the role based on objective data, not subjective impressions. The subjective matters, but not as much as most people think. In fact, relying on subjective impressions during the hiring process has been shown to result in decreased performance post-hire.

Some organizations have even removed the hiring manager from the interview process to eliminate the subjective emotional bias interviewers can inject into the process. Candidates are pre-screened based on objective measures like the CVI. The supervisor of the winning candidate is excluded from the interview process.

If we change our focus away from finding people who fit our culture and instead bring in those who are passionate about their job and the mission of the position, they will naturally add to the culture and help shape it for the betterment of everyone on the team.

Those who are passionate about their job and have a strong sense of purpose—that what they do matters and is appreciated—will add to the culture and help it grow. Their enthusiasm and passion will infuse the culture in a positive way.