It’s a picture-perfect scenario: you’ve found the dream candidate for your open position who walks the walk, talks the talk, has a brilliant skill set, spot-on experience, and glowing recommendations. However, only a mere month or two after signing on, this new hire quickly crashes and burns. What happened?

Countless horror stories like this one have been told, and most often, the culprit comes down to the candidate just not fitting into your company’s culture. As team work and group projects become more common in the workplace, finding the right candidates to fit into corporate culture has become essential for success.  Despite the candidate’s promising skills and experience, how can you tell if they will be a good fit?

First and foremost, you want to be sure you understand your company’s culture. Your culture covers a vast range of topics, from schedules and travel, to ethics and values, to management and communication. Once you are confident you understand your company’s culture, try following these simple steps to assess if your candidate will be a good fit:

• Provide realistic job previews.  If a candidate is being considered for a position, having a clear understand of daily job duties can help you narrow your candidate pool down to only candidates who are serious about the position. Combine testing with this option to allow candidates the ability to opt out of the interview process, as well as help your company determine the potential quality fit of the candidate.
• Use referrals and internal connections. Current employees know your culture firsthand and typically choose to refer people who will also fit into your company’s culture. When promoting referrals, be sure to put the focus on candidates who would be a good fit, rather than those with high skill levels or experience.
• Utilize social networks.  This is a great way to determine if a potential candidate communicates and interacts in a way that fits. There is a great deal that can be learned about a candidate’s communication skills, language ability, and motivation through engaging with them on social networks such as Facebook, or LinkedIn.
• Consider conducting fit tests. While many companies (and candidates) are not familiar with fit tests, it is an older approach that has been around for decades. When used correctly, it has a golden track record for assisting with hiring decisions.  These tests add a quantitative dimension to your selection process and give you a visual aid for what to take into consideration.

Hiring candidates who match your culture will accelerate productivity, raise innovation, and decrease turnover. No matter which technique you choose, making sure candidates will be comfortable in their environment should be a top priority. If you need help determining a fit approach for your company, contact Staffers today!