Day 17 Theme: Organizational Culture: “Fit” vs. “Add”

Last week in our exploration of institutional racism, we touched briefly on organizational culture. We’d like to dive into this topic more deeply today, specifically the idea of “cultural fit.” This encompasses all of the things beyond the clearly defined experience, credentials and qualifications employers might list in a job posting—criteria that are often unwritten, highly subjective and nebulous.

This type of screening for camaraderie among staff can promote unity of purpose and process, enabling the organization to function like a well-oiled machine. But it can also foster insular thinking and stifle innovation by writing off employees who would bring new perspectives and fresh ideas to the organization. An organization too focused on cultural fit is probably missing out on some workers who would make it more successful, which is why some are replacing “cultural fit” with “cultural add”: rather than assessing how well a prospective employee would fit in, asking what’s new that the applicant could bring to the table. As you engage with these resources, consider how your organization views diversity—where would you say it is on the cultural fit/cultural add spectrum?(The following three resources are linked below.)

Forbes article: Why hiring for “culture fit” might be holding you back

Tech entrepreneur Chandra Arthur: The Cost of Code Switching (11-minute video)

Nonprofit AF post: Why we need to end the culture of cultural fit

Reflect & Respond:

Prompting Questions ?-?-? How might our approach to recruitment and hiring be changed to better reflect the “cultural add” perspective? For people who already work for your organization, how inclusive is the general environment? Are there current employees whose strengths aren’t recognized and valued as such because of the prevailing culture? What can be done to change this dynamic?