Culture Fit Done Right: Define Your Values Before You Hire
What's this episode about?
Culture fit in hiring only works when it's defined by your deep values, not by who you'd grab a beer with. This episode uses Steve Kerr's four Warriors values and Edgar Schein's layers of culture to show why values come before competencies, and how to interview for values fairly and consistently.
Key takeaways
Define your company values before you define the competencies for a role. Values tell you who to pass on before you look at the résumé.
Culture has layers. Perks and dress codes sit on top; the deep layer is what actually gets rewarded.
Values fit is strongly linked to satisfaction, commitment and retention, but only weakly to performance. Values keep people; competencies make them good.
Fit based on similar personalities barely registers, and gut-feel "fit" in interviews often reflects similar-to-me bias.
Write three to five values with behaviours attached, check them against what really gets rewarded, and score every candidate against them the same way.
Full transcript
This is Hiring Without Regret. I'm Ashley Wesley.
And yes... the Raptors won the 2019 championship. I said I'd mention it every episode. I meant it.
Last episode, I told you to define the role before you write the job ad. I got ahead of myself. There's a step before that one, and skipping it is how good hires go bad.
Here's my call for today. Before you can decide what competencies you need, you have to know what your company actually values. Not what's on the wall. What gets rewarded when nobody's watching.
When Steve Kerr took over the Golden State Warriors, he didn't start with plays. He started with values. He worked with NFL coach Pete Carroll, whose warning was simple... values only matter if they show up every day. Otherwise they're just words on a page. So Kerr cut his list from ten values down to four. Joy. Mindfulness. Compassion. Competition.
In November 2015, the Warriors became the first team in NBA history to start a season sixteen and oh. Kerr wasn't even on the bench. He was recovering from back surgery. So what did he do that day? He wrote those four values on the whiteboard at shootaround, and told the players he was proud, because they were hitting all four.
That's culture. Not a poster. A standard you actually use.
Now, you're the GM. You're building a team around those four values. A brilliant scorer who sulks when he doesn't get the ball? Great talent. Wrong team. The values tell you who to pass on before you even open the stat sheet.
Here's where culture fit goes sideways in business. Edgar Schein, who spent his career studying organizational culture, described it in layers. On top, the stuff you can see... the ping pong table, casual Fridays. Under that, the values you say you have. And at the bottom, the deep stuff. The unspoken assumptions about what really gets rewarded here.
It's easy to define culture fit at the top layer. Would I grab a beer with this person? Do they golf? That isn't culture fit. That's hiring people who remind you of you.
The research is blunt about this. A big review of fit studies, led by Amy Kristof-Brown, found that when people's values match their organization's, they're more satisfied, more committed, and less likely to want to leave. Fit based on similar personalities barely registered. And there's evidence that an interviewer's gut sense of fit often reflects "similar to me" bias more than real fit.
One more thing from that review. Values fit was strongly tied to people staying... and only weakly tied to how well they performed. So values keep people. Competencies make them good. You need both, in that order.
In Ontario, there's another reason to get this right. "Not a good fit," with nothing defined behind it, is exactly how bias sneaks into a hiring decision. And it's hard to defend.
It's why, when I review a finalist for a client, I start by having the client's own people complete the same culture and values assessment. That way "fit" means something we measured, not something somebody felt.
So what do you do on Monday?
First, write down three to five values. For each one, describe what it looks like when someone lives it on a bad day. Kerr needed four. You don't need twelve.
Second, check them against reality. Ask your best people what actually gets rewarded here. If the answer doesn't match the list, believe the answer.
Third, interview for values the same way every time, and score answers against those behaviours. And retire the word "fit" unless you can point to the value behind it.
Next episode, behaviour and personality... and why "he's outgoing, he'll be great" can be such an expensive sentence.
Culture isn't what you hang on the wall. It's who you hire, and who you let go.
Quick note. This is general information, not legal advice. Before you change how you hire, run it past an employment lawyer. I'm Ashley Wesley. See you next time.
Frequently asked questions
What is culture fit in hiring?
Culture fit in hiring means a candidate shares the core values that drive how your company actually works. Done well, it's defined by a short list of values with clear behaviours attached, not by personality, hobbies or whether the interviewer likes the candidate.
How do I define my company values for hiring?
Pick three to five values and describe what each looks like when someone lives it on a bad day. Then test the list with your best people by asking what really gets rewarded. If their answers don't match the list, the list needs work.
Can culture fit create legal risk in Ontario?
It can. Rejecting someone as "not a good fit" without a defined, job-related reason is how bias can slip into hiring decisions, and it's hard to defend. Tie fit to specific values and behaviours, score candidates consistently, and confirm your process with an employment lawyer.
Work with Ashley
Ashley Wesley is a Fractional Sales and HR Executive and retained-search partner based in Guelph, Ontario. His Final Candidate Review benchmarks culture and values fit against a client's own team, so "fit" is measured rather than guessed. Learn more at ashleywesley.com.
References
Associated Press. (2015, November 26). Kerr values streakin' Warriors live by. The Philippine Star. https://www.philstar.com/sports/2015/11/26/1526341/kerr-values-streakin-warriors-live-by/amp/
Hughes, J. (2022, August 22). A CEO's take on Steve Kerr: Coaching the Golden State Warriors to joy, compassion, competition & mindfulness. Hughes Marino. https://hughesmarino.com/blog/2022/08/22/a-ceos-take-on-steve-kerr-coaching-the-golden-state-warriors-to-joy-compassion-competition-mindfulness/
Kristof-Brown, A. L., Zimmerman, R. D., & Johnson, E. C. (2005). Consequences of individuals' fit at work: A meta-analysis of person-job, person-organization, person-group, and person-supervisor fit. Personnel Psychology, 58(2), 281-342. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2005.00672.x
Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Disclaimer: This episode and page provide general HR and business information, not legal advice. Employment law turns on the specific facts and changes over time. Before acting on anything here, confirm it with an Ontario employment lawyer.
