Intelligent, Adaptable People + Cultural Fit = Sky's The Limit!

Traditionally when employers are surveying potential employees, they will focus on the skills and experience of each candidate and interview a select few based on their perceived criteria match. The interview will try and elicit responses to prove the candidate suitable/unsuitable for the organisation. Many interviewers, despite candidates’ responses, will make their choice based on ‘gut feel’ and whether or not they like the person. Whilst many employers would say these methods have generally served them well, the increasing speed, specialisation and structure changes occurring in modern day organisations has created the need for employees with not just the skills and experience, but with the talent, cultural fit and aligned goals, values and behaviours.

These days “good people and good searches cost more than ever and the criteria for determining who’s right for the job are now both more extensive and harder to assess.” (Stauffer, D. 1998) One of the problems with the traditional method of candidate/employee selection is that you cut off many of your options from the very beginning when resume screening is performed. Experience does not necessarily equal ‘potential’ – a candidate’s potential to be the most talented, focussed, motivated, productive and loyal employee your organisation may have seen.

If, as an employer, your main recruitment focus is on experience and skills, and you pay little attention to values and motivators, you may successfully recruit a candidate who will ‘do their job’, but you are far less likely to elicit the sort of commitment, motivation and focus necessary to go the extra distance. “Respected CEO’s and (recruitment) consultants alike are now placing much more emphasis on interpersonal skills and the fit between the candidate and the organisation’s culture.” (Stauffer, D. 1998)

So why is cultural fit so important? Skills can be learned and experience is cumulative. What can’t be learned or developed is an ingrained set of individual values and goals. If those values and goals are in line with those of your organisation, you are going to have a motivated employee who is going to do what it takes to travel in the same direction and attain success.

Many organisations have set about achieving cultural alignment by setting a new company direction, vision and strategy and then asking existing employees to make a commitment to same at great financial expense. Unfortunately this does not usually work because individuals values and goals generally outweigh those of an organisations and are not easily changed. Therefore this process inevitably leads to very little change and a lot of wasted effort.

“The good-to-great leaders understood three simple truths. First, if you begin with “who”, rather than “what,” you can more easily adapt to a changing world. If people join the bus (organisation) primarily because of where it is going, what happens if you get ten miles down the road and you need to change direction? You’ve got a problem. But if people are on the bus because of who else is on the bus, then it’s much easier to change direction: “Hey, I got on this bus because of who else is on it; if we need to change direction to be more successful, fine with me.” Second, if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great. Third, if you have the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction; you still won’t have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” (Collins, J. 2001, P. 41)

References:

Collins, J. 2001, Good to Great, Random House, Auckland

Stauffer, D. 1998, ‘Cultural Fit: Why Hiring Good People is No Longer Good Enough’, Harvard Management Update, No. U9803C

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