Hire for Cultural Fit
December 5th, 2011Hiring managers have a tendency to base hiring decisions on the skill or technical competence of the potential candidate and pay less attention to the candidate’s fit with the work environment, unless the skill level is comparable to other candidates and they need tie-breaker criteria for their decision. In my experience, effective talent management begins with making great hires and that is typically achieved when leaders focus on selecting candidates that have excellent fit with the organization’s culture. In fact, I recommend placing priority emphasis on the cultural fit of potential hires rather than focusing on those with the highest degree of technical competence.