A recent WSJ article reveals that employers increasingly assess job candidates’ cultural suitability as part of the hiring process.  Some companies, such as the online retailer Zappos, give company veterans veto power over potential hires who are deemed likely not to fit in with the existing organizational culture.  Executives report that cultural suitability often determines who succeeds or fails in the workplace.  In fact, numerous human-resource (HR) staff report than when considering recent college hires, cultural fit is more important than a person’s referrals, coursework, and grades.  Margaret Spear says:  “People work long hours, so who do you want in the trenches with you?  You want someone you enjoy spending time with.”  Thus, HR departments are assessing potential employees’ past experiences, interests, off-hours activities and pet peeves as part of cultural fit determinations.  However, some experts say cultural fit assessment leaves firms vulnerable to discrimination lawsuits.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says cultural fit is a “vague, amorphous” term that could lead firms to discriminate.  Partly for this reason, Facebook discourages its managers from using cultural fit as a factor in hiring.  Lauren Rivers warns that some firms use cultural fit as an excuse to weed out candidates who are too different from their ranks.  In conclusion, firms must be able to prove in a court of law that cultural fit, if used as a hiring factor, is a valid and reliable factor, just as they perhaps would have to prove for any test or other hiring criteria used.

Source:  Rachel Feintzeig, ‘Culture Fit’ May Be Key to Your Next Job, Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2016, B1.