Culture Add Candidates vs Skill Set Candidates, Which one is better?
You’re competing against more job vacancies than ever before. The question of values-fit vs skills-fit is crucial to understand as the qualified candidate pool becomes smaller and smaller.
So, how do you know what to hire for? Is one better than the other?
Hiring for skills alone is not a great idea but a lot of people are feeling anxious about just getting someone through the door. So I’m here to walk you through what to expect with both and how you can move forward with this in mind during your hiring process.
Culture-add candidates:
Are aligned with your core values
Resonate with your mission
Similar work style of the current team
Skill-set only candidates:
Professional experience in your industry
Required skills for the position
Technical skills
What to expect when hiring JUST for culture-fit:
You might have really found someone that feels as though they were woven into your business culture, they were cut from the same cloth but once you actually onboard them, you realize they might not have been the best fit for the job responsibilities.
Here’s what to expect:
You’ll have to spend a lot more time on training
They may need a bit of hand-holding, especially at the beginning
You may need to invest in resources for the employee to gain the skills needed
What can you do if you’ve already hired for culture-fit? Tips:
Think of someone who may be able to mentor them that’s already a part of your team so that you don’t end up having to do the majority of it.
Have clear expectations and easy WINs for their first 90 days
What to expect when hiring JUST for job-fit:
You’ve onboarded your new employee and they’re flying through tasks left and right but you realize they’re not really clicking with the team environment and work culture as much as you would have liked, it may even be impacting the eco-system in the office.
Here’s what to expect:
You should spend extra time going over your business values, mission, and expectations
You may need to emphasize what the expectations are for work culture
What can you do if you’ve already hired for job-fit? Tips:
Make sure your new hire spends some extra time shadowing team members or scheduling 1-on-1s with them.
Make sure that you create opportunities for team building right from the start
Is there one that’s more important than another?
Both are equally important. Incorporate your team in the interview process for culture and also ask role-play interview questions to determine skills fit.
Regardless of whether you hired for culture-fit or job-fit, it’s important to reiterate how crucial it is that you’re setting expectations for your new hires. If you set expectations at the beginning, and your new hire isn’t meeting those expectations, it’ll be easier to have that tough conversation when they are not performing.
Work Well Wherever has helped 60+ small businesses hire well, work well and lead well… if you feel overwhelmed with the hiring process and need someone on your team to help you make those strategic hiring decision, you know who to call (not ghostbusters, but Work Well Wherever). Schedule a free discovery call here!
