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Writer's pictureTina Marie Baugh

Values Match not Cultural Match

Updated: Aug 14, 2023

“We are looking for someone who fits our culture.”

“I just don’t think she’d mesh with our culture.”

“We want Joe to interview him. Joe really knows how to tell if someone is a good cultural match.”

Have you heard these statements? Something similar?


Business Culture and Values

Culture can mean different things to different people. It can be about and include values, but often it includes more. Matt Blumberg said it well in his blog, The Difference Between Culture and Values,

Values guide decision-making and a sense of what’s important and what’s right. Culture is the collection of business practices, processes, and interactions that make up the work environment.

A company’s values should never really change.


Why should we seek people who match our business values instead of culture?

We want people to be successful and productive. We want them to be at their absolute best even three years after they join the team. The culture of the organization is absolutely going to change in that time.

  • The company is going to grow or shrink.

  • It will in-source or out-source services, or both.

  • People will come and go. Those we enjoy working with, and some not so much.

  • Processes will be automated.

  • “Best practices” will be updated.

All this is culture.


Values are another matter. Usually, a company’s values have been the same for one hundred years. Examples include:

  • Leadership

  • Collaborations

  • Integrity

  • Respect for the individual

  • Diversity

  • Quality

  • Patient-centered care

  • Learning

And so many more.


As Megan Hyatt Miller recently said in the Full Focus podcast The Rules Don’t Apply to Me! (or, How NOT to Be an Entitled Leader)

You know, there’s been kind of a movement away from using the language of cultural fit, because that can ultimately lead to bias. And it can be another way of saying, we want people that are just like us in ways that are homogenous, but the one place we actually want to be homogenous is in our values. You know, what we really want is values alignment, not “cultural fit.” We want people with lots of different expressions, but of their individuality, but who are aligned with our values.


How to interview for values match

So how do we make the shift from cultural fit to values match?

  1. Language - This one is easy. Start here. Intentionally change the language you use as you conduct your own interviews. As you visit with the hiring team, focus on values. This will bring you and everyone else back to what is critical.

  2. Know your company’s values - I know this sounds silly but I am amazed how many hiring managers do not actually know their organization’s values. We need to pull those apart from our own values and interpretation and get the company’s definitions. It is a great refresher for us as well.

  3. Ask values questions - You know how to get example answers about projects, dealing with tough deadlines, customers, etc. Why not ask:

    1. “Tell me about a time when you demonstrated exceptional collaboration”.

    2. “Tell me about a time when you felt you could have collaborated better and what you learned from the situation.”


The key here is to be aware that we want to bring people into our teams who add more than just technical value. We want to look for traits and experiences to complement the rest of the team, not carbon copies.


What do you think? Do you look for cultural fit, values fit, are they the same for you? How do you interview and check for the fit? I’d love to hear from you.

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