To build strong teams, recruitment is vital. Effective recruitment is an important ingredient to build companies that do well in the long run. Many firms find it difficult to hire candidates who possess the skills and also whose values align with the company culture. For smooth functioning striking a balance between the two is needed.
What is cultural fit?
Cultural fit is how well a person’s values and beliefs align with that of an organization. This is important because collaboration is a main part of a team. If a person is not able to fit in they might not be able to show full potential to their team. On the other hand, employees who fit into the culture of the company tend to be more engaged, happy and productive.
Many times, the concept of cultural fit is misunderstood. It doesn’t mean that everyone has to be the same, such as people from the same place, speaking same language or same perspectives. In a nutshell it means “unity in diversity”. Diversity in a team can produce innovative and impactful work.
Lastly cultural fit ensures that the employees stay for a longer period of time, reducing the extra work for the HR and saving resources for the company.
About Skills
Skills are just as important as cultural fit. It’s like two wheels of a bicycle. Let’s take example of an IT sector. If IT recruitment companies in Hyderabad want to hire a candidate for the role of a full stack developer for a large MNC, just looking at the cultural fit will not be sufficient, recruitment companies in Hyderabad would also need to focus on finding candidates with the required skills such as front-end technologies, backend technologies, applications security, etc.
Finding Balance.
Balance is the key in life as well as in recruitment. If the selected candidate excels in the skills while lacks in cultural fit or vice versa, it would be catastrophic.
Let’s find out some ways by which the recruiters can strike a balance among these 2 vitals aspects.
Defining core values
A company should clearly define its core values to the recruiters. This will save the time of both the parties involved. This will give them a proper road map and clarity in the hiring process. It is vital that the recruiters communicate these to the candidates during the hiring so that they will know what they can expect if they decide to work here.
Skill assessment
Include skill assessment in your hiring process. This can be different for different job roles. For software development roles it can include logical reasoning, for video editing a candidate might be asked to demonstrate their editing skills on a current project and so on. By testing the skills in the real-world scenario, you can ensure that they meet the requirements.
Behavioural Interview
Such an interview can provide you the knowledge of how the person has handled different situations in the past. This also helps to get an idea of his/her calibre. For example, asking them how they have handled a particular situation in their previous company can give you useful insights about the candidate and help you to make decisions whether or not they can be a good fit for the role.
Foster Diversity
Diversity fosters healthy environment. This is true in terms of nature as well as an organization. If you have a large bunch of people who speak the same language, are from the same place and culture it might create a tough time for the remaining few. Because humans tend to bond easily with people who are similar to them. This can be uneasy and can make the others feel left out and thus motivate them to look for another job.
Look for adaptability.
Change is constant. There will be occasions when things won’t go according to the plan and during those times adaptability is what comes to the rescue. Also, in the ever-evolving landscape of technology employees who can learn and adapt accordingly will thrive. As a recruiter you should look for this skill in every candidate that you interview.
To conclude, in terms of cultural fit vs skills, the main thing to consider is the balance of both. By clearly communicating the values and using effective techniques to test the skills, companies can hire candidates which can be true assets for them.
Ultimately, the right blend of cultural fit and skills can transform a group of individuals into a high-performing team.