How to hire a candidate who will fit in seamlessly with your organisation

Employers who recognise the importance of aligned values between candidate and company will go a long way to achieving greater productivity, team harmony and length of service from their new hires while the employee is likely to feel a greater measure of engagement and job satisfaction.

This is why hiring managers often need to start looking beyond technical qualifications in order to find the best talent for a role. While the right qualifications, skills and track record are important and should be given due consideration, hiring managers should also be screening to find the candidate who best aligns with the values of the team and organisation they're seeking to join.

RELATED: More useful behavioural-based interview tactics.

Employers wishing to make the right hires can make a positive start by taking steps to understand what makes their organisation and people tick. This can be achieved by:

• Assessing and outlining your employee value proposition (EVP), what your organisation can offer and how you are perceived as a prospective employer by external candidates.
• Observing employees at work and assessing the work patterns within the business from an external perspective.
• Investigating the impact that the immediate working environment (space, light, decor, etc.) has on employees and on work practices and making any relevant changes.
• Questioning staff — in an objective, non-judgemental forum — on their working arrangements and what they like/dislike about their working arrangements.
• Comparing the working environment and outlook of the business to that of other similar companies.

RELATED: How to attract the top performers in your industry

Finding the best fit

While understanding the make-up of your organisation can help you improve the company’s existing environment and provide you with insights into the types of professionals you should or should not hire, you will also need to focus on the individual characteristics of your candidates to ensure they’re right for your business.

The safest way to assess potential candidates for the right fit is to conduct a series of behavioural and motivational questions as part of the interview process. These questions should be developed with your particular company values and working practices in mind and should require candidates giving examples of specific past experiences that demonstrate how they have embodied those values.

These responses will give you much better insight into how a potential employee would conduct themselves day-to-day, interact with colleagues and respond to pressure.  Potential questions to ask could include: "Tell me about a time when you experienced conflict at work and how you resolved it?", or "What are one of your career goals and what steps have you taken/are taking to achieve it?". 

While developing the right questions may take up more time in the hiring process process, the results will likely pay off when you hire the one candidate who will fit well into both the role and the company.