What is cultural fit and what should be assessed in this test?

The application of the test cultural fit It has become increasingly frequent in selection processes, and the main purpose is to ensure compatibility between the company's values and the candidate's profile.

What is cultural fit?

Have you ever stopped to think about how many people go through the dismissal process because they are unable to adapt to the company's culture and pace?

Whether due to high demand, difficulties with leadership or even disagreement with the company's values, cases of contract termination due to incompatibility are not uncommon.

Regardless of the reason for the dismissal, the problem could have been avoided if the discrepancies had been noted during the selection process.

However, most candidates end up worrying about offering the profile that the company is looking for in the interview, which sometimes requires “hiding” some values and behaviors in search of approval.

The cultural fit test serves precisely to avoid this situation, as through it the recruiter assesses the degree of compatibility between the company's values and the candidate's.

Sometimes there is no right or wrong side in a conflictual working relationship, as the problem lies in the divergence of expectations and possibilities on both sides.

Then, Through the cultural fit assessment, the recruiter can “map” this alignment, in order to find the candidate that best fits the company’s profile and requirements..

How important is cultural fit?

You have probably heard countless lectures in favor of a plurality of profiles and opinions in the workplace.

Many experts in the field assure us that disagreements are healthy for building new ideas and team integrations. So why test? cultural fit exists?

Although cultural fit is primarily used to assess the compatibility between candidate and company, it also provides important information about the candidate's profile.

And sometimes, such compatibility is not in a profile identical to the company's values, but in the profile that the company needs.

So, in addition to avoiding dismissals due to breaches of expectations caused by divergence of values, cultural fit also helps to find the ideal candidate for each case and need.

For example, let's say you work at a company whose culture is a more relaxed and laid-back work environment, but you've noticed a lack of team engagement. In this case, hiring a calm and laid-back candidate may not solve your needs, since someone more active and determined could bring about beneficial changes to the team.

So, although the aim is to find compatibility of values, with cultural fit it is also possible to assess whether the candidate would offer solutions to the company's demands.

What questions should be asked in the cultural fit test?

The test questions cultural fit must be strategic, because, as we have seen, many candidates are concerned with “molding” their own profile to the company’s expectations, believing that this guarantees them greater chances of approval.

Therefore, it is important that the recruiter conducts the test using unpretentious questions that do not appear to have a correct answer.

This way, the candidate will be encouraged to answer what he really thinks, enabling an accurate and compatible assessment.

Here are some questions that usually work well in this type of assessment:

1. How do you deal with high demand days?

2. In a situation of conflict between colleagues, what would your attitude be?

3. How do you handle last minute requests?

4. Do you believe in an ideal leadership model?

5. If you are unable to meet a deadline, how do you usually react?

It is worth mentioning that these are just recommended questions, as you can create your own questions based on the criteria you want to evaluate.

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3 possibilities for applying the cultural fit test

The great advantage of the test cultural fit is that it can be applied in different stages of the selection process, using 3 main methods: interview, questionnaire and dynamics.

Below we will look at each of these methods, so that you understand how the test is applied in each of them.

Interview

In general, most recruiters choose to apply the test cultural fit during the interview, either for practicality or for the dynamism of the responses.

In this case, it works as follows: the recruiter asks strategic questions and evaluates the candidate's answers as they respond.

For this method, recruiters usually rely on open-ended questions, since the idea is to obtain answers in an unpretentious way, without the interviewee noticing the evaluation, which would allow them to adjust their answers.

Questionnaire

When the test cultural fit It is done through a questionnaire, the idea is to find a “compatibility percentage” based on the answers given by the candidate.

Then, the recruiter gives you a questionnaire with scales (on a scale of 0 to 10, how much situation x bothers you, for example), and at the end there is a score.

There are several tests of this type on the internet that you can use as a basis.

Dynamics

Finally, the last method of application of the cultural fit It is through dynamics, and it usually works best for group interviews.

Then, the recruiter presents situations and asks the group to find solutions. During the resolution process, the evaluator collects information about each candidate's posture and attitudes.

In general, this is the quickest way to get answers, and offers more accurate results, as the candidate demonstrates live how they act when faced with challenges.

Regardless of the method chosen to assess cultural fit, this is an important test to ensure good hiring, so it's worth putting it into practice!

Roberta June 29, 2024

Career