So much is made these days of hiring “best-fit candidates” that organizations go to great lengths to not only inspect in microscopic detail, the technical competencies of candidates they recruit, but their suitability in melding with the organization’s beliefs, norms, and culture. The heightened level of attention hiring professionals pay to “cultural fit” is perhaps the organization’s approach to ensuring “natural selection” – the process Darwin observed during a visit to the Galapagos Islands, and later wrote about in his “Origin of the Species.” As the theory goes, natural selection – also referred to as “survival of the fittest” is the process of genetic intelligence by which organisms evolve to adapt to an ever-changing environment. This process enables any given species to survive and replicate itself by weeding out inferior genetic strains.
Why Organizational Fit Sits At Center Stage in the Hiring Process
The collective culture of an organization sits at the heart of its identity and signals how the organization is perceived in the marketplace. This perception can enhance or jeopardize a brand’s reputation, accelerate or contract its business results, and empower, or stand in the way of its ability to achieve its mission. As business leaders become more aware of the direct relationship between cultural health and business health, they’ve placed a top priority on enterprise culture, seeking to recruit candidates who possess the inherent ability to exemplify that culture.
Today, more than ever, it’s important for organizations to maintain a positive, frictionless culture and to be perceived as solid corporate citizens that deliver environments free of bias and promise the best experience for employees. A gander at the recruitment ads and websites of most enterprises today you’ll note the attention given to enterprise culture and so-called “employee experiences.”
Digital marketing and advertising agency, Big Spaceship, for instance, features a separate Culture page on its website that invites visitors to “bring your unique self.” The agency’s Careers page boldly highlights “humans not robots,” and states that people are not viewed “as line items on a spreadsheet or percentages in a budget.” The page also declares, “when you give the best to the organization, you get the best from it.” Sounds fair.
Root Out Rock Stars – There’s Only Room For A Single Lead Guitarist
In a 2011 interview, Big Spaceship Founder and CEO, Michael Leibowitz told New York Times reporter Adam Bryant, that he learned early on while growing his agency that he wouldn’t “hire jerks,” no matter how talented they were, and he’d only hire people he personally liked. “No matter how gifted a candidate appeared, the negative would always eradicate the positive.” His reference was to so-called “rock stars” — candidates high on talent and low on humility. Better to onboard “the third- or fourth-best candidate,” he stated.
In adding staff, he’s also the first, rather than the last to interview candidates. Makes sense, he’s the ultimate arbiter anyway. Apparently, the process of banning rock stars has worked well for him. According to his LinkedIn profile, he’s built his agency to become a “crack team of digital innovators,” with a boastful client list. Ergo, “Bring your own self,” should perhaps be amended to include the provision, “Rock stars not welcome here.”
In my own case, I fancied myself more of a folk singer/songwriter than a rock star, and as far as aspirations go, it’s been my desire to go the distance, no matter how far, do my personal best, and modestly place second or third in my age group.
