The Difference Between a Cultural Fit vs a Values Fit

When a company looks to expand their team, the number one thing (after the job skill, of course) we hear that they are looking for is a “cultural fit”. Sometimes this same sentiment is expressed as “value fit”.

Is there a difference between these two ideas, or are the sentiments interchangeable? Is one more important than the other?

Our research shows that there is a gulf of difference between culture fit and values fit, and in fact, most organizations would do well to focus first on a value fit, and only then start to look at a culture fit.

The distinction is that values can never be compromised. This means that a “Values fit” can never be compromised, no professional will allow it. It is crucial that a hiring manager is clear on what a company’s corporate values are, and equally important that your recruitment agency partner reliably presents employee candidates that can deliver to those standards.

“Cultural fit,” on the other hand, can be much more nebulous.

Cultural fit is a two-sided coin. On the one hand, an employer generally wants people to join the team who are aligned and will get along with everyone else. On the other hand, if you hire only people who think what your existing staff thinks and believes what your existing staff believes, there is a grave danger of developing institutional blind spots that will eventually result in falling behind any competition that takes a broader view of the market.

At the end of the day, a company is a sort of a machine in which all the people to achieve the company’s goal together. To that end, it is clear that having values fit established before finding a culture will benefit your organization for the long term.

If you would like to discuss any of these ideas further, or if you have been facing problems finding employee candidates that share the values that are core to your organization, do not hesitate to get in touch with one of the expert recruitment consultants at Thailand’s leading recruitment agency Criterion Asia today!