Casey

It’s still a struggle to find qualified candidates. We’ve talked about refining your long-standing hiring habits to improve finding qualified and quality candidates to fill your open positions. One area that seems to be getting a bit of airtime is “culture fit.” Oftentimes, we look for candidates that “fit the mold” of current employees – you know – finding candidates whose working preferences and values match the company. What may be happening inadvertently is an unconscious bias when you hire for culture fit. Some experts agree that you might want to consider hiring for “culture add” to not only widen your candidate pool but also improve the creativity, diversity, and thought-provoking dialogs in your department and organization.

Why Culture Fit Falls Short of Being Fair

According to Gallup, many assumptions can be made when hiring for culture fit:

• It assumes the hiring decision-maker understands and role models organizational values, beliefs, and expected behaviors. Decision makers often come with their own values and beliefs that may not align with the organization’s, further creating hiring bias.
• It assumes the decision-maker can make a fair, informed selection decision.
• It assumes that an organization has a level of maturity in its culture journey.

Typically, if the candidate doesn’t fit the culture, they aren’t hired. You may be escorting a candidate who could be a great employee right out the door because of culture-fit hiring practices.

What is Culture Add?

Gallup defines culture add as “a fresh spin on the concept of culture fit. Rather than making hiring decisions that create a homogenous, familiar culture, culture add promotes hiring decisions that focus on the candidates’ unique and beneficial attributes, values, beliefs, and behaviors. It is what they bring to your organization from their distinct perspective and experiences.”

What’s the upshot of hiring for culture add? Gallup explains it like this. If the workforce is shrinking, the fundamental need is for organizations to recognize what they are hiring for and why it matters. The right hiring practices examine not only cultural needs, value systems, and technical competence but also factor in role-specific talent attributes and behaviors for high performance.

In today’s marketplace conditions, 85% of currently employed U.S. workers say they are considering leaving their jobs in the next six months, according to LaSalle Network. U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said in an interview at the CNBC Work Summit that he expects job growth should continue into 2023.  However, the demographic data on the U.S. working-age population is concerning, with baby boomer retirements expected to accelerate in the years ahead, compounded by a peak being reached in high school graduates by 2025, limiting both the total size of the next-generation labor pool and the transfer of knowledge between the generations of workers.

The thing to pay attention to here is recruiting and retention. If managers and employees are disengaged, and the statistics hold true, finding and keeping good employees will continue to be a challenge.

Does Culture Add Practices Even Make a Difference With Remote and Hybrid Work?

Some may argue that remote/hybrid work environments destroy a company’s culture. That’s not necessarily true. There’s a common belief that when employees are physically together, they develop important social bonds that simply can’t be replaced by email, Zoom, and Slack.

In fact, 23% of U.S. hybrid workers strongly agree that they feel connected to their organization. Only 20% of all employees strongly agree they feel connected to their organization’s culture.[1]

And leaders have good reason to care. Employees who strongly agree that they feel connected to their culture are:

• 3.7x as likely to be engaged at work
• 5.2x as likely to recommend their organization as a great place to work
• 37% more likely to be thriving
• 68% less likely to feel burned out at work always or very often
• 55% less likely to be looking for a job[2]

Gallup’s data shows us that being in the office never equaled a great culture. There are many ways to create connectedness within teams and across companies. Here are some best practices for managing remote teams.

With remote and hybrid work being the preferred option for many employees whose job allows this option, a solution of culture add or a revision of culture fit may still make it possible to add employees who bring value that is lacking in the organization.

We Can Help

Be less concerned about culture fit and more interested in adjusting hiring practices to align with employee talents, competence, and aspirations. Choose that employee who helps move the organization forward. Also, continue to watch for managers and staff who are disengaged and talk to them about the value they bring to your organization.

Let’s discuss the challenges you’re facing. Contact Casey Accounting & Finance Resources today.

 

[1] https://www.gallup.com/workplace/401576/dont-confuse-office-culture.aspx?utm_source=workplace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=gallup_at_work_newsletter_send_2_october_10182022&utm_term=newsletter&utm_content=a_new_chapter_cta_1

[2] https://www.gallup.com/workplace/401576/dont-confuse-office-culture.aspx?utm_source=workplace&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=gallup_at_work_newsletter_send_2_october_10182022&utm_term=newsletter&utm_content=a_new_chapter_cta_1