How To Find The Right Candidate To Fit Your Company Culture

Company culture refers to the shared values and beliefs that shape the mission of an organization and what it stands for. It influences the personality and work environment of the company and is a vital factor in selecting and onboarding new hires within an organization.  Employers should strive to hire employees based on a deliberate, well-executed assessment of how they can fit into, benefit from, and add value to the company from a cultural perspective.

During the hiring process, it’s crucial to search for candidates that not only have the required job skills and qualifications, but also hold values, beliefs, outlook, and personality that match the company's culture. Candidates who are a cultural fit are more likely to be satisfied with their job and as a result, are proven to have higher retention levels and perform better.

Questions You Should Ask When Interviewing for Cultural Fit

Preparing a unique set of pre-vetted interview questions can help ensure that you objectively assess and choose candidates that truly fit in with company values and philosophy. Here are five interview questions to help start conversation and gage candidate for cultural fit:

What was the best thing about your past role, and what was something you wish was different?

This question helps to determine if the candidate would be happy and productive on your team based on the similarities/differences between the role you are offering and what they did or did not enjoy about their past positions. For example, a candidate who prefers to work alone and thrives in a quiet environment is not built for a workplace that’s centered around collaboration and has an open workspace.

If you are great at your job, why are you leaving your current role?

This question enables you to see how the candidate’s motivations align with your core values, and discover if the opportunity can satisfy them in the long run. A candidate who consistently leaves roles to advance their career is a great fit for an organization that values promoting within, but would be a poor fit for a role with little/no room for advancement.

Where do you see your career in 5 years?

Asking this question allows you to see if a candidate’s long-term career plans align with the current position and also how the opportunity you’re offering can help them come closer to achieving those goals. If you enable an employee to reach their full potential and feel fulfilled in their vision of what it looks like to be successful, then the chances of them remaining in the role/with the company are heightened.

What was the most challenging work issue that you solved, and how did you solve it?

Here, it’s not the actual problem they discuss that’s important but rather their decision-making process and their workplace behavior. Does their approach and attitude fit in with your processes? Do they show initiative and passion about finding solutions to workplace problems?

If you were the boss how would you run this team/project?

Here, you will not only glean the candidates preferred management style, but also the level of self-awareness the candidate exhibits about their work preferences. What type of direction do they feel others will best respond to? Do you they have leaderships skills? Can they communicate well? How flexible can they be?

Dig Deep to Find Out if a Candidate Truly Fits In

These questions should be treated as conversation starters to spark deeper discussions and uncover personality traits, workplace behaviors and ultimately if the candidate could potentially fit into your organization. This is your opportunity to show the candidate the true personality of the company while also identifying any red flags about their fit into the company culture.

Let the professionals at ASB Resources guide you in interviewing and placing candidates that fit your company’s culture and add value to your team. Schedule a call with one of our experts today!