The success of New Mexico companies relies heavily on the quality of their workforce and their retention rates. As hiring managers know, a significant factor in determining if a candidate will work out is company culture. The go-to advice for making hiring decisions is to go beyond qualifications and also consider a candidate’s alignment with company culture.
When considering the importance of company culture, there are two interpretations to think about: either being a match with current culture, culture fit, or bringing something new and different to it, culture add.
Hiring for culture fit vs. culture add: what’s best for NM companies?
Culture fit means sharing values and attitudes that already exist with the company, with the goal that the new hire would seamlessly assimilate into the established dynamics for workflow and interpersonal interactions.
Potential benefits of hiring for culture fit are:
- Employee engagement and job satisfaction
- Teamwork and morale
Potential risks hiring for culture fit are:
- unintentionally discouraging diversity in the workplace
- preventing innovation and fresh perspectives
Culture add means introducing something new to the existing norms of the organization with the goal of enhancing and growing it through introducing new viewpoints, ideas, and overall experiences.
Potential benefits of hiring for culture add are:
- Encourages new approaches and ways of thinking
- Organically builds an inclusive workforce
Potential risks hiring for culture add are:
- Higher turnover if new employees feel awkward or otherwise do not enjoy the culture
- A lack of cohesive vision or shared values negatively impacting productivity
Consider these factors to determine if hiring for culture fit or culture add is better for your company’s needs:
- Status of current culture – if you are actively trying to build or improve an existing culture, a culture add may be more useful for positive change, while culture fit is better for strong cultures that are successfully working.
- Job requirements and types of roles – for some roles, having different personalities can make it difficult for everyone to be on the same page or perform very defined processes, making culture fit more important.
- Company values and goals – bigger picture objectives for the organization can influence what type of hiring is most important, i.e., if a NM company is trying to expand and reach new customer bases or offer new products/services, having an outsider perspective may be particularly necessary.
No matter which approach you take to hiring for culture, it is essential to prioritize making fair and equitable decisions and take steps to reduce opportunities for unconscious bias. If you want professional expertise in attracting qualified prospective candidates that align with your company culture needs, a helpful option is utilizing the services of a recruitment firm.
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The Hire Firm is a leading provider of professional recruiting and temp services in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, NM. We have been working with New Mexico employers for nearly thirty years and are dedicated to helping our clients build their teams with the most qualified prospective candidates. Contact us today to learn more about our recruitment services.