How To Hire For Cultural Fit And Avoid Costly Mistakes

This expert opinion by Bruce Eckfeldt, Inc. 5000 CEO and strategic business coach, was originally published on Inc.com.

Having founded, scaled, and successfully exited a high-growth company, I’ve seen firsthand how hiring the right people can make or break an organization. As an Inc. 500 CEO-turned-business coach, I’ve helped countless leaders refine their hiring strategies to ensure strong individual performance and a thriving company culture.

While technical skills and experience are essential, hiring employees who align with your company’s values and mission is the key to long-term success. A bad cultural fit can erode trust, create friction, and even drive away top talent. However, with the right approach, you can build a team that performs and strengthens your organization from the inside out. Here’s how to do it.

1. Define And Validate Your Company Culture

Before assessing cultural fit, you need to be crystal clear on what your culture is. Many companies have aspirational values posted on their walls but fail to live them daily. To make culture a hiring tool, ensure your core values are more than just words—they should be consistently modeled and reinforced behaviors within your organization. Validate them by talking to employees, observing workplace interactions, and ensuring they align with business decisions. Culture isn’t what you wish it to be—it’s what happens when no one is watching.

2. Weave Your Values Into Job Postings

Your hiring process should filter in candidates who align with your values and filter out those who don’t. Embedding your company’s culture into the job description is a great way to do this. Instead of using generic job postings, incorporate your values into how you describe the role and the work environment. Use language that reflects how your company operates, and be upfront about the expectations regarding collaboration, decision-making, and accountability. This will naturally attract candidates who resonate with your culture and deter those who don’t.

3. Align Company Communications With Reality

If your website and external branding paint a picture of an innovative, fast-paced company, but your internal culture is more bureaucratic and slow-moving, new hires will quickly feel misled. This disconnect can cause frustration and disengagement. Ensure that your company’s public-facing communication—on your website, in social media, and in interviews—reflects your internal culture. Employees should recognize the company they applied to when they walk in on their first day.

4. Use Behavioral And Scenario-Based Interview Questions

Instead of asking candidates if they align with your values (which encourages rehearsed answers), present real-world scenarios they might face on the job and ask how they would respond. For example, if teamwork is a core value, ask: “Tell me about a time when you had to collaborate with a difficult team member. How did you handle it?” Look for responses that demonstrate alignment with your company’s values and decision-making style.

5. Give Candidates Choices To Reveal Priorities

A more advanced technique is to ask candidates to choose between two equally reasonable options, each reflecting a different value. For example: “If you were leading a project and discovered a major issue the night before a deadline, would you (A) push forward to meet the deadline and address the issue later or (B) delay the launch to ensure quality, even if it impacts the schedule?” Their choice will tell you whether they naturally lean toward your company’s approach to problem-solving and prioritization.

6. Incorporate Social Interactions In The Hiring Process

Interviews can be formal and scripted, making it hard to assess how someone interacts in a work setting. Creating informal social interactions—like a team lunch or coffee chat with their potential colleagues—can provide insight into how candidates naturally communicate, collaborate, and carry themselves. This helps you see whether they genuinely fit into the team dynamic and company culture in an unscripted environment.

7. Use Multiple Interviewers For A Well-Rounded Perspective

Cultural fit is subjective, and one person’s impression may not be enough. Have multiple team members—especially those who would be working directly with the candidate—participate in the hiring process. Comparing notes can help identify alignment (or misalignment) that one person alone might miss.

A great hire is someone who not only has the skills to perform but also the values to thrive in your organization. Getting this right will enhance individual performance and strengthen the overall company culture.