Why assessing for cultural fit can reduce employee turnover

Recruitment can be time-consuming and very expensive, which makes it vitally important to get it right. One thing that's not perhaps talked about as often as it should be when recruiting is cultural fit.

If you've ever visited another country with a completely different way of life, you'll quite likely have experienced at least a little bit of culture shock. It can be quite disorientating and leave you with that awful fish out of water feeling.

While it isn't quite the same, that really is the last thing you want your new employees to feel when they join your company. Making sure you get the right candidates to fit in with your company culture can prevent that.

What is your company culture and why assess for it?

Every company has its own particular culture. Some have quite a strict management structure and a more formal approach, while others choose a flat management structure and an open, relaxed way of doing things.

While it's certainly possible that some potential employees can adapt from one type of culture to another, surely it's far better to assess your interviewees for cultural fit before they find themselves feeling uncomfortable and out of place on their first day? This would also prevent any problems from arising that might lead to your new staff member leaving or being asked to leave.

Benchmark your current position

If you can start by establishing your current employee turnover rates, you'll have a benchmark to measure your results against. Follow that by thoroughly assessing your own company culture, and you have a far better chance of recruiting your ideal employees at every level, which is particularly important for permanent, high-level contracts.

Incorporate company culture questions into the interview

While you do need to consider the experience, abilities, and skills of your interviewees, considering their cultural fit could reduce costs, lower your staff turnover and smooth your recruitment and on-boarding process.

The interview is a perfect opportunity to explore this with each candidate, and it gives both you and the candidates the time to consider whether your company is a good fit.

From this, you will have more of an idea if your chosen candidate will fit in with your company and stay for the long haul. And if every candidate knows what to expect before they join your company, the chances of any misunderstandings and unmet expectations are reduced, which also increases the chances of new recruits staying with you and building a career.

With the cost in both time and money of recruiting and training new staff, and the learning curve before they are as effective as existing staff, using cultural fit as one of your interview criteria could make all the difference to your company’s efficiency and your bottom line.

I hope this helps!