“Culture Fit” vs. “Culture Add”: Evolving Recruitment for Long-Term Success
How embracing “cultural add” enhances diversity and innovation in hiring practices
Introduction: The Role of Culture in Hiring
Recruitment strategies have long been shaped by a desire to find candidates who seamlessly blend into the company culture. In many organizations, this is referred to as hiring for “culture fit,” which refers to selecting candidates who align with the existing values, work styles, and team dynamics. However, a newer approach—hiring for “cultural add”—is gaining traction as companies realize the potential downsides of exclusively focusing on similarity. Remarkable Career recognizes the importance of shifting from a purely culture-fit hiring model to one that embraces culture add to create stronger, more innovative teams.
What is Culture Fit?
Culture fit revolves around the concept of harmony between an individual and the organization’s values, behaviors, and overall culture. Candidates who are seen as a cultural fit share similar work preferences, personal values, and interests with the team. For instance, in a department that enjoys social outings after work, a culturally fit candidate might be outgoing and sociable, complementing the team’s style.
The advantages of hiring for culture fit are clear:
Longer retention: Employees who share similar values and work styles are more likely to stay, reducing turnover.
Efficient onboarding: A culturally aligned candidate can integrate quickly into the company’s way of working, making early contributions and achieving milestones.
While hiring for cultural fit can make for smoother day-to-day interactions, it has its limitations.
Drawbacks of Culture Fit in Recruitment
Reduced Diversity: Focusing heavily on similarity can hinder diversity in the workforce. Homogeneous teams often have limited perspectives and may struggle to understand or serve customers from different backgrounds.
Bias Reinforcement: Managers may, consciously or unconsciously, lean towards candidates who reflect their own characteristics or share similar backgrounds. This can lead to the exclusion of unique voices and even perpetuate biases.
Risk of Stagnation: Without fresh perspectives, teams risk becoming static, with limited capacity for innovation. The “likability factor” of cultural fit might make for enjoyable camaraderie, but it can stifle the creative friction that sparks innovation.
No Guarantee of Retention: Culture-fit employees still leave, even from the best cultural environments. Relying on cultural fit alone does not ensure longevity in a role.
Embracing Cultural Add: Shifting the Focus to Contribution
Cultural add flips the perspective by asking what a candidate can bring to the organization’s culture, rather than merely seeking alignment with the status quo. Instead of finding candidates who “blend in,” cultural add prioritizes candidates who bring unique perspectives, skills, and ideas to enhance the workplace.
For example, an experienced professional joining a younger team could bring balance by advocating for work-life boundaries, based on lessons learned from previous roles. This can help prevent burnout among younger employees who might otherwise overextend themselves.
The cultural add approach benefits organizations in several ways:
Enhanced Diversity: Hiring individuals from different backgrounds fosters a rich variety of perspectives, improving problem-solving, creativity, and connection with diverse customer bases.
Innovation Boost: With new ideas comes greater capacity for innovation. Diverse teams are proven to generate more dynamic and creative solutions, crucial for business success in competitive landscapes.
Expanded Market Insights: Employees from diverse backgrounds offer insights that are invaluable when expanding into new markets or industries.
While the advantages are clear, cultural add hiring does require intentional planning.
Practical Strategies for Implementing Cultural Add Hiring
Successfully integrating cultural add hiring into recruitment requires a thoughtful and structured approach. Here are five practical steps Remarkable Career recommends:
1. Define Your Culture with Precision
Start by establishing your company culture. What values, behaviors, and goals are non-negotiable, and which aspects could benefit from fresh ideas? At Remarkable Career, values like collaboration, integrity, accountability, and a growth mindset are foundational. By defining core values, companies can attract candidates who uphold these principles while still contributing something unique.
Use employee input to gain a complete picture of what makes your company culture unique and to identify where contributions could add value. This participative approach fosters a shared sense of ownership and transparency in recruitment.
2. Identify and Guard Against Bias
Hiring for cultural add requires vigilance against biases. Often, these biases are unconscious, leading us to prefer candidates similar to ourselves. Companies can tackle bias by:
Crafting inclusive job descriptions that focus on essential skills rather than subtle demographic signals (e.g., avoid phrases like “high-energy” or “recent graduate”).
Using competency-based and structured interview formats to assess candidates based on skills, values, and attributes rather than subjective fit.
Implementing a broad interviewing panel with representatives from varied backgrounds to provide balanced assessments.
Expanding applicant pools by recruiting from diverse sources, not relying solely on employee referrals or familiar recruitment agencies, which tend to reinforce existing demographics.
3. Balance Culture Fit and Culture Add
While focusing on cultural add, remember that culture fit still matters. Teams should share foundational values and work harmoniously. If a candidate’s values clash with your mission, they may struggle to integrate. Conduct a cultural alignment check, but avoid rejecting candidates solely for being “different.” For example, Remarkable Career emphasizes accountability, so candidates should respect deadlines, but their approach to problem-solving might differ.
4. Focus on What Candidates Add to the Team
Shift the emphasis in interviews to discover what unique contributions each candidate could bring to your goals, client relationships, and business success. A candidate who seems unconventional at first may bring exactly the skill set or perspective the team needs. Adopt a mindset of curiosity about candidates’ experiences and ask how they could contribute to long-term objectives.
To support this mindset, interview questions can be reframed to encourage open-ended responses about values and goals. For instance, ask candidates how they approach collaboration or handle constructive feedback.
5. Foster an Inclusive Environment
Hiring for cultural add is only the beginning. Once hired, employees should feel empowered to express and share their ideas. Building an inclusive culture means encouraging mutual respect, curiosity, and adaptability. Leaders can start by discussing with new hires how their skills and perspectives can best be leveraged within the team, and by being open to necessary adjustments in workflows or practices.
To foster a truly inclusive environment, Remarkable Career encourages managers to hold regular check-ins with new employees and to provide platforms for sharing insights gained from diverse experiences. This way, culture add hires feel both heard and valued.
Why Culture Add Hiring Matters for Business Success
Diversity and inclusion are no longer optional; they’re essential for business growth. A McKinsey study revealed that companies with diverse executive teams were 33% more likely to outperform their competitors in profitability. Diverse teams drive innovation and provide access to wider market insights. Businesses adopting cultural add hiring create an adaptive and resilient workforce, prepared to tackle evolving challenges in today’s market.
Moreover, diversity and inclusion support recruitment and retention efforts. When candidates see diverse representation in a company, they’re more likely to feel welcomed and to envision their own career progression within the organization.
Conclusion: Moving Beyond Culture Fit
Hiring for culture add is more than just an updated recruitment buzzword; it’s a crucial shift that aligns with Remarkable Career’s mission to connect top-tier talent with opportunities that foster both personal and professional growth. While culture fit has traditionally offered stability, hiring for culture add brings adaptability and innovation, essential for businesses aiming to remain competitive. By defining culture thoughtfully, guarding against bias, balancing fit and add, and fostering an inclusive workplace, companies can build teams that not only work well together but also push boundaries.
By prioritizing cultural add, Remarkable Career supports clients in creating the dynamic, diverse teams essential for sustainable growth. As businesses embrace this strategy, they move beyond mere compatibility toward a culture that thrives on diversity, innovation, and continuous improvement.