Assessing Cultural Fit within the Recruitment Process

Selecture Global were recently represented at the HR European Directors Summit in the Midlands. A busy schedule on the first day included one to one meetings with HR Directors, general networking and audiences with key speakers including Lianne Hornsley [Google HR Director] and Karen Brady, Birmingham City Football Club MD.

The following day we hosted lunch for a number of blue-chip companies. The theme centred on the importance of assessing and evaluating ëcultural fití in the Recruitment Process. Cultural (or organisational) fit can be described as the correlation of the individuals values, beliefs and behaviours aligned to the organisational values.

The War for Talent continues to intensify and the supply of good quality candidates remains a challenge. As a result of this tight labour market, hirers are sometimes under pressure to make quick recruitment decisions. It is interesting that, according to the CIPD, 45% of hirers attributed tight labour conditions for ignoring cultural fit. This could be a contributory factor to HR sometimes not having enough influence in the Recruitment Process, even leaving hirers in some instances with sole discretion over candidate selection. Alarmingly, according to the CIPD, 50% of hirers would recruit someone who is not quite right rather than go back to the start of the recruitment process.

The effects of poor recruitment decisions are often evidenced in low morale, productivity, attrition rates and dissatisfied clients. During the lunch, various methods for assessing cultural fit in the recruitment process were discussed, and the most common seem to be: behavioural questions targeting values; panel interviews to obtain input from more senior members of staff; and of course reference checks. Some companies are undertaking motivational questionnaires, but this exercise needs much analysis, testing and use before it could be attributed as a sound technique.

What else could companies do? Onsite visits are one way of a prospective candidates meeting employees in an informal way. Trial periods were discussed, where companies could take on employees on a contractual basis first with a view to them becoming permanent and therefore the employer can be 100% certain that the candidate is a good fit. This of course has legal and cost consideration. Pre-employment dinners were viewed as a sound way to meet candidates outside of the working environment, where a relaxed atmosphere and informal environment may make the prospective candidate feel more at ease and hence open about their values and motivations.

Lianne Hornsley of Google sees the importance of new employees successfully adapting to their new teams. When a new employee signs up with Google, a congratulatory present is dispatched welcoming them to the organisation. This is followed by an invitation to lunch with the team theyíll be working with. Such measures appear to be working as Google have very low attrition of less than 5%.

It appears that cultural fit is one area where HR can make a significant strategic and operational impact on businesses, and potentially make an impact to the bottom line. As designated recruiters, itís important for us to thoroughly understand our clients and their values in order to effectively screen prospective candidates, provide exceptional customer service, and ultimately save valuable time for our clients. This should ensure repeat business for us, and our client can enjoy the undisputed commercial benefits of attracting and retaining the right people.