Are you responsible for recruitment in your organization? You want to create a diverse, inclusive workplace, where everyone can work together as a team and mutual respect is assured. How do you identify the right new hires for your company -- with culture fit, or with culture add?

Culture fit recruitment

The idea of a “mission-driven” workplace became the brass ring for many companies early in the last decade. The idea was that every new hire should have complete devotion to the company’s vision, and “culture fit” or homogeneity was encouraged.  

However, this shut out a lot of people with incredible talent and led to a stifling of creativity. Culture fit ended up leading to workplaces that looked, felt, and operated all the same. There was no diversity, no innovation, and no real competitive spirit. 

Culture fit can lead to a situation that depends solely on referral hiring and “meritocracy”. Recruiting turns into a chain of hires that may or may not be the right fit for the job, even if they seem like a perfect fit for the company. 

Culture add recruitment

In contrast to culture fit, “culture add” can help your company culture become better. Your employees will come from different belief systems, ethnic backgrounds, and educational experiences. This can be a good thing, as it will make your existing employees open their minds to new ideas and ways of doing things. 

The result is a diverse, innovative approach that can improve your company's bottom line. In fact, a major study that looked at more than 1700 companies in six different countries found that organizations with diverse teams were able to bring in 19% higher revenues thanks to better innovation.

Culture add can provide your company with new hires that bring insight, experience, and empowerment to your organization's future. When you recruit with culture add in mind, you are more likely to hire people that don’t just add diversity to your company culture, but also provide the highest value for your business. 

Using culture add + Trainual for new hire success

When you adopt a culture add mindset paired with the right employee onboarding process, you’re more likely to get your new hires you need to propel your company forward. Here are three considerations you should keep in mind when moving forward with culture add recruitment and training.

Personalized onboarding

Everyone you are hiring should be handpicked for their skills and what they can bring to your company. Show them you value their time right out of the box. Invest in an onboarding tool that can personalize their experience, not a cookie-cutter manual. There’s no sense in making new hires slog through pages of dry material to find the bits that apply to them. Trainual allows you to create different paths through employee onboarding depending on department, role, and responsibilities as well as already acquired skills and knowledge. 

Clear, consistent information

New hires want one thing over all else - communication. They crave to be told exactly what their job is, and how you expect them to get it done. When you hire for culture add, you may end up with a few people who have had a different learning experience. Don’t allow them to feel adrift if they don’t have a background that provided them with the same knowledge “everyone else” in your organization got by default. A thorough onboarding process that lasts more than a day or a week can support them and ensure they never feel at a loss or worry about looking stupid. Trainual empowers you to document every process in your company so they can always find an answer to their questions.

Diversity and inclusivity

Back up your culture add hiring with clarity in messaging to your entire organization: diversity is happening, and inclusivity is a mandate. Make sure your new hires don’t have to battle bigotry or snobbery.  An open, welcoming attitude should be present at every level, from the top down. Trainual can be a great way to ensure all new hires complete sensitivity training as part of the intake process. 

Embracing culture add

How have you built your team thus far? Have you - even unintentionally - slipped into the habit of culture fit? Concentrating on finding cogs that fit perfectly into your machine from day one can make things run smoothly, but what about gaining momentum and increasing power? 

Adding new components, like pulleys and levers may take a little more time and effort. You’ll have to refine your machine to find ways to integrate them. But these differently shaped components can improve your productivity, stability, and efficiency. 

Look for new hires that can do great things for your business, not just ones that “feel comfortable”. Then use Trainual to onboard them, and help them mesh with your team to create something even better. The results could astound you!