Originally, ‘cultural fit’ was viewed by managers as a tool for identifying individuals with a certain set of skills, abilities and experience that would enable them to make their own place in the organisation, gel in with their colleagues, and work together effectively to deliver value to clients and establish a relationship with them . However, over time, the cultural fit phenomenon has been distorted; specifically when it comes to recruiting, an increasing number of managers look for similarities in personalities, family, educational and financial backgrounds as well as recreational pursuits. It is no longer a question of hiring people who will work cohesively within an organisational culture, but rather who the managers develop a personal preference and liking, which has no bearing on how the individual will perform at work.
People assigned the responsibility of hiring new recruits therefore, end up relying on their instinct about applicants, rather than objective measures that assess how effectively a person will be able to perform a job and how well he/she fits within a team or department. Case in point: most financial institutions lookout for candidates that fit a certain preconceived idea of the ‘type of employee’ they want in their workforce. Recruiters are given instructions about the skills to consider, but are rarely, if ever, given the right tools to judge the fit . Organisational values of honesty and transparency would imply that the company would want to filter applicants who indicate less tolerance for constructive criticism; on the other hand, a brand like Southwest Airlines, that looks for people with a fun-loving personality, is at risk of rejecting candidates who might appear serious initially, but have the requisite skills to deliver engaging customer service.
Understanding that people from different cultures, while sharing certain universal traits such as a common language and family norms, also have different norms when it comes to what is considered acceptable and unacceptable, will go a long way in ensuring that the personal biases of recruiters do not affect the selection decision . Being misinformed and distrusting people who dress or eat differently increases chances of having an overtly cohesive, and hence less creative and innovative employee base. A multicultural workforce brings unique and varied perspectives to the table when it comes to decision-making and problem solving.
Works Cited
Docker, John. Postmodernism and popular culture: A cultural history. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Print.
RIVERA, LAUREN A. "Guess Who Doesn’t Fit In at Work." The New York Times 31 May 2015, Sunday Review: p. 5. Print.
