‘Fit’ is the all-important word used in the recruitment process, but is this the key to finding the best candidate?

‘They’re a great candidate, but I’m not sure they’re the right fit.’ Admit it, we’ve all said this at least one time during our careers. It is a really important aspect of the hiring process but can also be a significant blocker to hiring great candidates.

The best approach to hiring is to focus on cultural alignment. Fit narrows down your options and if you don’t have defined company values or purpose, you’re working in the dark or looking for that unicorn candidate, while not progressing with someone who could be a standout employee.

How will that candidate fit in with our teams and company personality? If they don’t ‘fit’, will they work well with others?

The term ‘fit’ implies assessing whether a candidate’s skills, values and personality align with the company’s culture and existing team dynamics. While cultural alignment is crucial for fostering a harmonious and productive work environment, it is essential to examine whether relying solely on ‘fit’ is the key to finding the best candidate.

Here’s a question to chew over during the recruitment process; do you want to be an organisation where you all agree as a collective and think the same thing? Where do challengers, mavericks and leaders fit in?

The Importance of Cultural Alignment

Cultural alignment refers to a connection between an individual’s beliefs, values and behaviours to those of the business. Where there is a strong alignment, employees tend to be more engaged, loyal, and committed to their work and the company’s mission.

In a culturally aligned workplace, employees are more likely to share the same vision, which nurtures a sense of belonging and purpose. Ok, so they may not have the exact ‘fit’ profile but they share the same goals, which potentially makes for a more driven and engaged employee.

The Pitfalls of Overemphasizing ‘Fit’

Going back to the question we asked above about groupthink, the challenge with making fit key is that it can lead to homogeneity of thinking. If everybody thinks the same way, there is a risk of no diversity of thought, alternative perspectives and experience or creativity.

Furthermore, placing too much emphasis on ‘fit’ can lead to unconscious bias in the hiring process. It’s human nature to unconsciously favour candidates who are similar to you or who are from a similar background, but again, this can be a limiting approach.

Here are some steps to help you move to hiring for cultural alignment:

Define Your Company Culture:

A crucial first step in the process is to clearly outline your company’s values, mission, and vision. Having a well-defined company culture enables you to assess whether a candidate aligns with these fundamental principles.

Focus on a Person Specification:

This document is key to hiring for cultural alignment, however, it won’t mean a thing if your company values aren’t in place. A Person Spec helps you outline what you’re looking for in your new hire or role. It will help you really focus on the key skills they require and identify more clearly the type of person that would suit this role.

Prioritise Skills and Competencies:

Alongside cultural alignment, focus on a candidate’s skills, experiences, and competencies that directly relate to the job requirements. A well-rounded skill set is essential for a candidate to excel in their role.

Onboarding and Integration:

Once the candidate is hired, make sure you have a robust onboarding process that helps the employee integrate seamlessly into the company culture. This includes providing resources, mentorship, and support.

Striking the right balance between hiring for ‘fit’ and considering other crucial factors is the key to finding the best candidate. By fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, while also prioritising skill and competency, companies can build a thriving workforce that adapts to the challenges of the ever-changing business landscape.

Finally, remember, the ultimate goal is not just to find a candidate who fits the culture but one who enriches it with their unique contributions and experiences.

When inflationary salary hikes just aren’t sustainable, there are other ways to support and engage employees

Let’s be honest, it’s been a tough and mixed-up 2023 so far.

Cost of living increases have seen a significant change in the way we spend and live our lives. Yet, at the same time, from the employer’s perspective, we’re still seeing skills shortages and retention struggles.

Even though the number of job vacancies fell in March, the jobs market is still at an all-time high. Combine this with the fact that there is a rapidly increasing need for specific soft and technical skills, as well as candidates with a deep understanding of the latest platforms or solutions designed to transform business.

These candidates are commanding high salaries and are more often than not, following the money. However, for some employers, such talent can be costly and, financially, this may not be the right direction for their business right now.

You can see how this mixed-up climate has had a knock-on effect on employers. In such a tough hiring market, the need to recalibrate and refocus on employee engagement and retention is key, whilst the need to balance the books and ensure employees are compensated fairly are paramount. This is has made company-wide benefits packages more important than ever.

Sometimes it’s the small things that make all the difference

Financial rewards, such as salary hikes, tend to be the go-to solution for employee retention, but this may not be the best option for your bottom line right now. Having said that, managing inflation against travel and living costs is also a management challenge right now.

Some businesses have been working on a half-yearly one-off payment to support inflation hikes, but others have used this as an opportunity to look at their benefits through a different lens to assess where day-to-day costs are hitting employees hard.

A great example can be seen with one of our clients. They looked at the incremental impact of ‘small ticket’ items, such as coffee and took steps to support the increasing costs of getting a take-out coffee every day. For them, the solution was to invest in a state-of-the-art coffee machine. That way, employees were still getting their barista-made coffee experience, but for free.

Simply looking at the economics of coffee, research has shown that an average cup of coffee costs around £3.14, which totals around £63 per month. For our client, thinking a little differently and making that upfront investment has immediately saved their employees money.

As we always say, it doesn’t always have to be grand gestures. Sometimes, it’s about re-framing your thinking.

Training or re-skilling

Giving employees the chance to up or re-skill is moving further up the boardroom agenda. It’s also a great benefit for employee retention. In large organisations, we’re seeing the growth of internal talent marketplaces where employees can see the latest opportunities within the business and can then apply or re-skill accordingly.

Talent Marketplace strategies are helping large organisations manage skills shortages and break out of siloed thinking, which can easily be replicated in SMEs. There are so many ways to train these days that don’t have to break the budget, which can also take the form of mentoring or on-the-job training.

Wellbeing

Post-COVID we’re seeing more and more employers focus on wellbeing programmes, which are still very much relevant in this climate, especially when it comes to financial wellbeing.

This is an area where HR Tech is thriving. This is a very dynamic and fast-growing space, with a wealth of employee engagement platforms that focus on financial or insurance benefits, as well as mindfulness and emotional wellbeing. These include Headspace, YuLife and Perkbox, to name but a few!

Hybrid working

Although it most definitely has its pros and cons, hybrid working can be a financially sound option during this time. One of the downsides of a hybrid approach, however, is the potential impact it can have on on-the-job-training, especially for more junior employees.

On the flip side, the cost of commuting can also have a significant effect on monthly salary – as we said, it’s a mixed-up 2023! – which makes hybrid an attractive solution to ensure employees have some money in their pockets at the end of the month. For employers, there are operational cost-savings to be had here too.

Taking this approach would mean more focus and preparation for the days when people are in the office, especially amongst junior employees to ensure they are given time to engage and learn.

At Cajun, I work with a range of growing businesses to help them with exactly these problems and challenges. As an extension of your HR function, I can look at how to ensure employees are being compensated fairly for their work without always having to focus on salary hikes.

I know this a very challenging time for businesses and why HR expertise could well be the HR lifeline your business needs.

Want to chat? Why not get in touch.

There are times when conflict can be healthy, but not all the time

Conflict. We’ve all faced it at some point in our careers and it can be quite shocking to experience, but there are times when it can be healthy.

Productive and high performing teams thrive on consensus, but they also embrace conflict. Why? Because it helps boost creativity. Research from INSEAD found that it makes employees work harder to find solutions for the conflict.

On the flipside, avoiding conflict can also be detrimental to an organisation as it can create an avoidance culture. Classic signs are meetings filled with ‘taking it offline’, managers looking at creative workarounds for challenging employees and huge priority lists for fear of saying no.

This approach can lead to frustration and a culture of negativity, not to mention halt innovation and productivity.

That’s not to say being confrontational all the time is great either. This can create an atmosphere of fear and tension. We don’t all want to be clones yet we don’t want to view conflict as normal because both of these are detrimental to a business, which begs the question; what’s the right balance?

When conflict is good

A good conflict arises from when ideas or plans are being exchanged. To use a recent example to illustrate the point; one of our team was in a client meeting recently where new plans were being presented. When plans were pitched and all stakeholders had their say, our team member questioned some of these plans and gave their reasons for challenging some key points.

This didn’t create a hostile environment, but instead gave people pause for thought. discussing, debating and presenting alternative solutions. The meeting ended on a positive note and a consensus agreed. Ok, as consultants a key part of our job is to challenge, but I think it illustrates the point that conflict in this instance is good…but you have to give people safe harbour to do this.

Of course, not everybody thrives on healthy conflict. An employee or team member may be conflict averse or more of an introvert, but there is still scope to challenge and to say ‘I don’t agree’. However, always make sure you check in with them after a meeting, get their feedback and make sure they’re comfortable.

For those that thrive on conflict, this is a great opportunity to use it with purpose. Caveat, this doesn’t give you the nod to go hog wild and be confrontational at every turn. It means you know that person is open to an animated exchange when necessary.

There are also times when conflict can simmer away until it reaches boiling point. Although we would recommend issues that are bubbling under are addressed as quickly as possible, sometimes a chance to vent and let off steam can be crucial.

If an employee or manager has repeatedly addressed an issue that is troubling them, but they feel very strongly about the fact nothing has been done to solve the issue, then conflict may be the only way to get heard. Sometimes it can be required to get something moved to action.

When conflict is bad

A direct conflict culture creates a bullying culture and that is not good for business. It is not to be encouraged or confused with good conflict. You will lose employees with this approach.

At the start of this piece, I mentioned how in conflict averse cultures managers can turn a blind eye to a challenging employee for fear of having a difficult, and yes, confrontational conversation.

The impact of this approach is that it breeds negativity amongst colleagues, and it also looks as though you’re giving that employee preferential treatment. Not to mention communicating a message that it’s ok to be a difficult.

While that individual is behaving however they want, valued employees are leaving or starting to change their behaviours to match that individual…because they’ve been given the signal that it’s ok to do so.

Ok, I know and understand that nobody wants to have ‘that’ conversation, but this is a great example of where it really has to be done. In fact, it is such a common problem and one I’m always asked about, but it has to be addressed before it does your business harm.

There are also times when conflict can just be between two individuals, such as a manager and colleague. This can be a lonely and isolating experience, and, in these instances, it’s important to really look into what’s going with this dynamic and address whether the manager may need training or focus their skills elsewhere.

This is also an opportunity to empower the colleague to address their challenges head on with their manager. The DESC approach has can help individuals have a constructive conversation and effectively communicate how conflict is making them feel.

There’s a more detailed download on our website, but the DESC approach works in four steps:

Step 1. Describe the situation: Summarise the situation and cite specific examples

Step 2. Explain how it makes you feel: Clearly state where you are facing conflict and outline how it makes you feel

Step 3. Solution: Offer a fair and reasonable solution to the problem. This shows a thought-free resolution

Step 4. Consequence: Outline the positive consequences of adopting the suggested solution

DESC is a framework we have relied upon often and it works well when conflict occurs between two individuals.   

As you can see, there’s a fine line between good and bad conflict, but as a tool to refine ideas, drive creativity and innovation, there’s nothing like a good old heated and robust exchange of views!