What is culture add vs culture fit and which is right for me?

You've likely heard of culture fit and culture add, but are unsure of the difference, benefits, or drawbacks.

Author Laura Rivera explored this topic in her book Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs. According to Forbes, Rivera found that managers heavily favor cultural fit. In fact, 82% of managers said fit is one of the most important things that they look for. Until recently, in many companies, one interview was designated the "fit" interview.

Yet only half of managers understand what their organizational culture is. Beyond that, only one-third report having the necessary tools for measuring “culture fit” during the hiring process. 

Many HR leaders now favor hiring for cultural add over cultural fit to avoid biases and embrace diverse talent. But what do these terms mean, and how do you know which is best for your organization? Let’s dig into the nitty gritty of culture add vs culture fit

What is cultural fit?

Culture fit refers to how well an employee's beliefs, behaviors, and values align with those of the organization they work for or are applying to join. It's the idea that a person's attitude and approach to work should match the company's overall culture and way of doing things.

Research shows us that the phrase “birds of a feather flock together” has some credence. In fact, similarity has been proven to breed connection. This happens inside and outside of work relationships, like in friendships or even marriage. 

The result means that people’s personal networks are largely homogenous. It can lack diversity, lack challenging thoughts or ideas, lack differing perspectives. So, what does that look like when it comes to hiring? 

What does hiring for culture fit mean? 

When hiring for culture fit, companies look for candidates who they believe will integrate smoothly into their existing work environment. This means seeking candidates with traits similar to current employees, varying by organization as each organization’s culture is unique.

What is culture add?

Culture add is a hiring approach that focuses on how a candidate can enhance and diversify an organization's existing culture, rather than simply fitting into it. This concept emerged as a response to the limitations of hiring solely for culture fit.

A culture add is someone who brings diverse experiences, perspectives, and ideas to the workplace. A culture add is someone who enhances the company culture, a missing piece that changes the picture. A culture add models desired behaviors and values while empowering growth. 

Unlike culture fit, which can lead to homogeneity, culture add strives to create a more dynamic and inclusive workplace. It recognizes that differences can be strengths and that introducing new perspectives can drive a company forward.

Culture add vs culture fit examples

Example 1: Tech startup

Culture fit: Hiring a software engineer who, like the existing team, thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys after-work coding sessions, and prefers informal communication.

Culture add: Hiring a software engineer from a structured corporate background who can introduce better documentation practices and work-life balance initiatives, while still adapting to the startup's core values.

Example 2: Traditional law firm

Culture fit: Selecting an associate who attended an Ivy League school, excels in a hierarchical structure, and is comfortable with long, conventional work hours.

Culture add: Choosing an associate from a diverse background with experience in pro bono work, who can help the firm expand its community outreach and introduce more flexible working arrangements.

Example 3: Retail company

Culture fit: Hiring a marketing manager who has extensive experience in traditional retail marketing and is comfortable with the company's existing strategies.

Culture add: Bringing on a marketing manager with a strong background in digital marketing and e-commerce, who can help the company transition to a more omnichannel approach while respecting its established brand identity.

In each scenario, the culture fit hire aligns closely with the existing norms, while the culture add hire brings new perspectives or skills that can help the organization grow and evolve.

Culture add vs culture fit pros and cons

Pros of hiring for culture fit:

• Potential cost savings: If a company has a well-defined culture, hiring those who align well can reduce turnover and training costs.
• Improved employer branding: When employees mesh well, it can lead to higher engagement and a positive workplace reputation.
• Smoother teamwork: Employees with similar values and work styles may collaborate more easily.

Cons of hiring for culture fit:

• Lack of diversity: Tends to create homogeneous teams, missing out on diverse perspectives and experiences.
• Encourages bias: Can reinforce existing biases, even unconsciously, in the hiring process.
• Limits innovation: Homogeneous teams are less likely to challenge assumptions or bring fresh ideas.
• Poor retention: Employees who don't fully fit may feel excluded and leave, despite initial attempts to hire for fit.
• Reduced performance: Lack of diversity and critical thinking can hurt overall company performance.
• Superficial diversity: May lead to hiring diverse candidates who still conform to existing norms, missing true diversity of thought.
• Groupthink: Teams that easily agree may fail to question decisions or explore alternatives.

Pros of hiring for culture add:

• Enhances diversity: Brings in varied perspectives, experiences, and skills.
• Drives innovation: New viewpoints can lead to creative solutions and ideas.
• Improves problem-solving: Diverse teams often tackle complex issues more effectively.
• Expands market understanding: Diverse employees may better represent and understand diverse customer bases.
• Evolves company culture: Helps the organization adapt and grow over time.
• Increases adaptability: Diverse teams are often more flexible and resilient to change.
• Enhances employer brand: Shows commitment to inclusivity and forward-thinking.

Cons of hiring for culture add:

• Potential for conflict: Differing viewpoints may lead to more disagreements initially.
• Adjustment period: May take time for new hires and existing team to adapt to each other.
• Communication challenges: Diverse teams might face more misunderstandings at first.
• Resistance to change: Some existing employees might resist shifts in company culture.
• Implementation difficulties: Requires careful management to integrate new perspectives effectively.
• Risk of isolation: If not managed well, "culture add" hires might feel like outsiders.
• Evaluation challenges: May be harder to assess candidates against less tangible "culture add" criteria.

How to hire for culture add versus culture fit

Hopefully, by now, you’ve identified whether cultural fit or cultural add is best for your organization. We’ve compiled some questions that can help your recruiting assess culture fit vs. culture add. 

Hiring for cultural fit 

If you’re interviewing for culture fit, consider some of these questions:  

• Do you understand your company’s culture? If you’re hiring for a cultural fit, it’s best that you understand your company’s culture. Take some time to analyze the organizational culture. What do you notice? 

• How would you define your company’s brand? This aspect goes hand-in-hand with company culture. What do you want your company to be known for? How do you want to define your brand? What role do the people you hire have in your brand’s identity? 
• What interview styles do you use? Behavioral-based interview questions (like ones using the STAR method) are best. You might also consider open-ended questions about the preferred work environment, relationships, and values. 

Hiring for culture add 

If you’re interviewing for culture add, consider some of these culture add questions: 

• Will they be effective in our work environment? There’s a difference between being effective and being boxed in. How will this person operate within the current workplace environment? Bringing diverse perspectives works if they also have the skills, resilience, and mindset to succeed. That might mean adding additional support in the org to make successful culture add possible. In this new normal way of working, how will they thrive? 

• In what ways will this candidate enhance our company culture? This takes some examining of your company’s culture. What is your culture missing? What will this person add? How can this person enhance aspects of your company’s culture? 
• How am I challenged by this candidate? Growth is uncomfortable. And sometimes, diverse perspectives can be challenging. But in the end, discomfort is where growth happens. What can you learn from this candidate? How are you challenged by this candidate? 
• Does their purpose align with the company’s purpose? Find the purpose and meaning of your work. And then, see if their purpose matches with the company’s core values. If there’s synergy there, it’s probably a great match.
  
  A company’s values matter — and so does workplace culture. But at the heart of culture is purpose, clarity, and passion. How are you finding the purpose of your work? 

What is a culture add interview?

A "culture add" interview assesses how a candidate might enhance an organization's culture, not just fit into it. It focuses on finding diverse perspectives and skills that can positively impact the company, rather than seeking perfect alignment with the current culture.

Key aspects of a culture add interview include:

• Diversity and inclusion: Evaluates how the candidate's background can bring new ideas and foster inclusivity.
• Innovation and growth: Assesses the candidate's potential to introduce innovative ideas and practices.
• Values and principles: Looks at how the candidate's values align with and enhance the organization's values.
• Collaborative potential: Measures the candidate's ability to work well with existing teams and contribute positively.
• Open-ended questions: Uses questions that allow candidates to share unique experiences and perspectives.
• Scenario-based questions: Presents hypothetical scenarios to gauge problem-solving approaches and contributions.

Culture fit vs culture add interview questions

Culture fit interview questions

• What's your ideal work environment?
• How do you prefer to be managed?
• Why are you interested in our company?
• When have you felt most in sync with your team?
• How do you deal with team conflicts?
• What aspects of our culture appeal to you?

Culture add interview questions

• Tell us about a time you brought a new idea to work. What happened?
• How do you work with people who think differently?
• What unique perspectives can you bring to our team?
• How might you help make our workplace more inclusive?
• When have you challenged the status quo?
• How do your values align or differ from ours? How might this affect your contribution?

Start building a thriving company culture 

The recruiting process is never an easy one. And hiring new employees — and interviewing potential employees — comes with its own set of challenges. 

You might be looking to rebuild your corporate culture. Or perhaps you want to enhance your workplace culture and are looking for ways to bring DEI into the fold. Hiring culture adds can help unlock your workforce’s potential. 

With the support of a BetterUp Coach, you can help your people thrive. After all, hiring people is hard. And the hiring decision can be tricky to navigate.

You want your people to bring their best selves to work every day in order to hire the best people. Together, we can help your company thrive.