What’s Culture Add and Culture Fit? | Victor Bullara

Do we hire for culture, or not? This has been a long raging debate. We create our take on this dialogue with Victor and Ashish discussing the differences between culture add and culture fit.

• Should organizations hire for culture fit, and if not, what is a better approach? We start the discussion by questioning the traditional practice of hiring for “culture fit” and explore why it might not be effective.
• What is the concept of “culture add,” and how does it differ from “culture fit”? We then move to defining and understanding the concept of culture add as an alternative to culture fit.
• How can organizations effectively implement culture add in their hiring processes? We think about practical strategies for building cultural diversity, including retooling applicant tracking systems, updating interview approaches, and educating hiring managers.

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Why is the World Moving Toward Culture Add?

The big trouble of the present is that cultural fit leads to conformity and a lack of diversity. As Victor highlights in the conversations, hiring for cultural fit often results in a “just like me” mentality, where people from similar backgrounds are favored, hindering diversity. The challenge to diversity is not just a superficial one; it limits a team’s growth by creating an ongoing loop of similar people and thinking patterns. Traditional cultural initiatives often fail. Many companies spend significant amounts of money on culture-related activities, but only a small percentage of employees feel that their co-workers are committed to the organization’s values, and executives don’t fully understand the company’s culture. This problem is multiplied when we are just hiring for culture and not bringing new voices into the fold.

So, what makes culture add an attractive option?

Culture add shifts the emphasis towards valuing individuals who bring unique perspectives experience and backgrounds to an organization.

• Culture add focuses on unique perspectives. It emphasizes the value of bringing individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives to an organization.
• Culture is not static. Organizational culture should not be viewed as a fixed entity but rather as a fluid concept that evolves over time with each individual’s contribution6.
• Culture add improves diversity and competitiveness. By hiring for culture add, companies can improve diversity, gain a competitive edge, and bring new ideas and ways of thinking into the company.

Implementing culture add requires changes in hiring processes. To effectively hire for culture add, companies need to retool their applicant tracking systems, define the competencies of an addition to the culture, educate hiring managers, and adapt interview processes. Behavioral interviews are important in assessing culture add. Behavioral questions like “tell me about a time when…” are key to assessing whether a candidate demonstrates the key competencies of culture add. There’s a clear line of reasoning in support of culture add. The challenge for HR teams mostly lies in implementing the ideas, tweaking their hiring processes and then training recruiters in the new systems once again.

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