For years, hiring for cultural fit has been a cornerstone of my recruitment strategy. The idea is simple: more than focusing only on skills, I focused on finding people who aligned with our company's values, norms, and practices to create a harmonious and productive work environment. This also means that I put a lot of focus on building a strong culture inside my team.
Cultural fit
However, when listening to Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Grant on the Work Life podcast, I had to re-think this approach as it highlighted the potential downsides of overemphasizing cultural fit.
In the podcast Adam says that startups where founders put culture fit first, their organizations are dramatically less likely to fail. So culture fit clearly wins in terms of startups surviving and then going public. But studies have shown that after their IPO, these ‘culture fit’ firms grow at slower rates.
He thinks that what is happening is that early on when you have a really clear mission, it's very helpful to have a bunch of people who are bought into that mission. But then once you become a bigger organization, you end up too homogeneous, having a lot of ‘group think’ making it harder to change and innovate.
Once you become a bigger organization, you can end up too homogeneous having a lot of ‘group think’ making it harder to change and innovate.
By hiring for cultural fit I aimed to ensure that new employees seamlessly integrate into the existing workplace culture. But although this approach can certainly lead to greater job satisfaction, higher performance, and better retention rates., it also has its pitfalls. When cultural fit is narrowly defined, it can lead to a monoculture, stifling creativity and innovation.
Cultural contribution
So now I’m rethinking my approach and instead of focusing solely on cultural fit, I focus on cultural contribution. This means looking for candidates who bring diverse perspectives and experiences that can enrich the workplace. This creates more room for diversity of thought and hopefully to better problem-solving and more innovative solutions.
It’s time to embrace cultural misfits—those who don't fit the traditional mold— so that we can foster a more dynamic and creative environment.
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My to-do list for embracing more diversity
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Rewrite job postings: Emphasize core values and the unique contributions I'm seeking, rather than rigid qualifications and experience.
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Revamp the screening process: Look beyond resumes and traditional qualifications. Consider candidates' backgrounds, passions, and potential for cultural contribution.
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Support new hires: Create an inclusive onboarding process that encourages new employees to share their unique perspectives and ideas.
Conclusion
Rethinking cultural fit doesn't mean abandoning the idea altogether. Instead, it's about broadening the definition to include cultural contribution. By valuing diversity and encouraging employees to bring their whole selves to work, organizations can unlock new levels of creativity and innovation.
It's time to move beyond conformity and embrace the power of diversity.
More information
The wrong way to think about culture fit (Transcript)
Malcolm Gladwell on the importance of self-correction (Transcript)
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know: Grant, Adam