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"We're looking for new hires who are a culture fit for our company."
What's wrong with this job description opener? Surely, any organization that wants a candidate who aligns with their company values is headed in the right direction, right? Sort of.
When it was popularized in 1989 by the University of Berkeley Professor Jennifer Chatman, the idea of "culture fit" meant to create a model of a human fit to an organization.
Nowadays, we're leaning more towards the idea of "culture add" as a prerequisite because "culture fit" missed out on real inclusion.
Here's a clear way to think of it: When employers prioritize a culture add, they're looking for the missing puzzle piece to their existing team. Instead of looking for a similarly-shaped brick, they're looking for a creative new shape and color.
Let's undo some of the old habits and biases that exist in the recruiting process. Whether you're a job seeker or an employee, determining what the culture add could look like breathes new life into talent acquisition and organizational success.
What Is Culture Fit Versus Culture Add?
We're no strangers to the term "culture fit," but what if everyone takes it a step forward? Let's explore the definition of each of these terms and how they come into play in the workforce.
Culture Fit
Cultural fit is a concept wherein employers screen potential candidates to determine what type of cultural impact they would have on the organization.
The criteria are based mainly on common values, beliefs, and behaviors. While this all sounds great, there is one worrisome word within this definition: common.
Culture Add
According to SHRM, the definition of culture add expands on culture fit.
Culture add includes the sum total of different types of diversity. These different perspectives, experiences, and competencies allow each individual to make their own unique cultural contribution to their team.
Culture add includes the sum total of different types of diversity. These different perspectives, experiences, and competencies allow each individual to make their own unique cultural contribution to their team.
What Culture Fit Misses
Culture fit had good intentions—it really did. However, when employers and hiring managers put culture fit at the forefront of their applicant search, they were also activating a number of mostly-invisible biases in the hiring process.
This includes unconscious bias, affinity bias, and confirmation bias. When an employer is unaware of these biases, they will repeat the same hiring decision repeatedly. The workplace will prioritize homogeneity over diversity.
Fitting in is a mindset that destroys a workplace from the inside. It alienates "outside" employees, increases turnover, and allows the same cyclical problems to continue to happen.
Culture fit is a great way to keep the status quo, which always has an expiration date.
You Don't Want to Fit in a Company Culture That Doesn't Include You
Whether you're a job seeker or an employer, putting diversity at the forefront is a great start, However, some employers miss out on real diversity as they prioritize visible diversity.
Visible diversity can be problematic when employers are looking to simply "check boxes" regarding gender and race. Leaders also need to prioritize inner diversity. These are teammates who think differently because their backgrounds, their personality traits, and non-physical attributes are different.
4 Reasons That Culture Add Is the Future
Culture add is an exciting value proposition for any potential employee. As an applicant, imagining your specific cultural contribution requires a good understanding and alignment of your values, your skill sets, and how you could enhance the current workplace culture.
1. It Prioritizes Core Values
While both culture fit and culture add prioritize a values-first approach, culture add does it better.
For example, while two employees might consider communication as a core value, they could have totally different methods of communicating.
While culture fit might preclude that all employees communicate via one method, culture add empowers employees to use various methods and approaches to communicate with one another.
2. Innovation
By putting culture add at the forefront of recruiting new employees, an organization sets up a culture of innovation. When everybody is invited to bring their unique attributes to the table not only to create, but to create new ways of creating.
3. Understanding + Perspective
Another huge problem with a homogenous workplace is human growth. Yep, we all grow and learn through our lives. Just like a romantic relationship, when an individual grows out of "the way things are done," they grow beyond the invisible set line.
Culture adds are encouraged to grow and learn. The word "add" prioritizes the concept of constant learning and growth.
Working alongside folks who tackle problems differently can enlighten everyone. Doing things the same way because "that's how it's done" is an icky concept in an "add" culture.
4. 360-Degree Diversity
Culture adds brings diversity in all manners. While culture fit protects comfort and familiarity, culture add inspires all team members to deviate from the norm, to try something new, and to always (always) value new perspectives over old ways of doing things.
This is what real diversity looks like. It's not checking boxes, meeting quotas, or presenting marketable lip service. It's being brave, taking risks, and it's hiring the employee who actually doesn't "really fit" on paper.
In our experience, those are some of the most successful hires we have ever seen.
10 Culture Fit Interview Questions + How to Transform Them Into Culture Add Interview Questions
In the interview process, it's almost a guarantee that you'll encounter either culture fit and culture add behavior-based questions.
On the flip side, you should have your own questions to ask about the existing culture. Below, we'll explore questions to prepare to answer and questions to prepare to ask.
Culture Fit: What are your plans for the next five years?
- Culture Add: What were your plans five years ago? Tell us about how they have changed.
Culture Fit: What motivates you to do your best work?
- Culture Add: Are there any unusual tricks you use to get tough work done?
Culture Fit: How will this role challenge you?
- Culture Add: How will you challenge this role?
Culture Fit: How would you describe our company culture?
- Culture Add: What's missing from our culture that you could bring to it?
Culture Fit: Why did you apply to this role?
- Culture Add: What is something only you can bring to this role?
Culture Fit: Who inspires you and why?
- Culture Add: How do you inspire others?
Culture Fit: What type of learner are you?
- Culture Add: What is the most unexpected lesson you've learned? It doesn't have to be directly related to your career.
Culture Fit: Tell me about a challenge you faced at work and how you overcame it.
- Culture Add: Tell me about a time you challenged someone to try something different and its impact.
Culture Fit: What are your biggest weaknesses?
- Culture Add: Tell me about a "personal weakness" you were able to reframe as a strength.
Culture Fit: How do you manage conflict at work?
- Culture Add: How can your coworkers communicate with you to avoid conflict or misunderstanding?
