(Published October 5, 2009)
Some hiring managers get so wrapped up in determining whether an applicant possesses the necessary skills/expertise/experience that they forget to assess how well the individual fits in with the corporate culture.
Those that do take fit into consideration often fail to devote as much time to the process as they should. They determine fit without questioning their rationale for why one applicant fits and another doesn't. Such assessment is needed because hiring for fit could mask unintentional illegal discrimination, e.g., assuming all applicants over the age of 50 aren't "hip enough" to work in a trendy clothing store simply because of their age. Guiding principle: Never ascribe personality traits to applicants based on their protected characteristics.
Despite the short shrift that it is often given, a new hire's fit with the company's culture is imperative. Think round peg in a square hole. It just doesn't work. No matter how perfect a skills match the new hire is, chances are good that they won't thrive in the position unless their personality jibes with the company culture, too.
One company that is committed to finding applicants that gel with its culture is Zappos.com. Rebecca Ratner, SPHR, Director of Human Resources, shared with me how exactly Zappos hires for fit without crossing any legal lines. In her own words...
When considering job candidates, we look for both a culture fit and a technical fit. All candidates go through at least these two interviews — the culture fit with Recruiting and the technical fit with the hiring manager and his/her team. Even if the tech skills and experience/expertise are there, we will not move forward if the culture fit is not.
The culture interview is framed around our 10 core values. We spend about an hour asking specific questions about each value to assess a candidate's fit.
For example, for our "create fun and a little weirdness" value, we ask, "On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, how weird are you?" There is no magic number. But, if someone says 0, they'd probably hate working at Zappos; if they say 10, they are probably too weird for us. It's more about the way the person responds to the question. Someone who gets upset and flustered at having to give a number is probably not right for us; someone who laughs and then responds, probably is.
For our "deliver wow through service" value, we ask questions about the best and worst service a person has received and what makes the service so. We ask for examples to illustrate their view of customer service and how they've exhibited great customer service in the past.
For our "build a positive team and family spirit" value, we ask candidates if they ever socialize with people they work with outside the office. A standard or canned interview response is either "no" or "yes, but only within reason because there is a professional line that can't be crossed." For us, this is a potential red flag as we expect employees to socialize to build team spirit.
Actually getting to see the true person is always a challenge because most people come to interviews with canned responses. So, to try and get to see the real person, we incorporate:
- Offices tours, during which we look at the candidate's reaction to what they are seeing, their body language, and what questions they ask.
- Themed interview rooms, such as our Elvis Presley room full of records and life-size Elvis cutouts or our CSI Las Vegas room with Vegas skyline wallpaper and crime scene tape.
- Games on our application, along with fun questions, like: If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?
Our hope is candidates will realize we are not a traditional corporate company and be themselves.
Many thanks to Rebecca for sharing her insights with me. I'm willing to bet that Zappos isn't alone in its commitment to hiring for fit. Post a comment below and tell me how your organization decides whether an applicant is a good fit with your company's culture.
Melissa V. Pomerantz
Editor
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