Some teams carry out their tasks and create friction, while other teams rub together and eventually just click.

For decades, keen managers have searched for this key to team harmony. Aligning employees with your workplace culture can be the foundation for outstanding team bonds.

So today we’re outlining how nailing the company’s cultural fit leads to next-level teamwork.

Let’s open the book on cultural fit and organizational alignment to fuel your long-term success.

What exactly does “cultural fit” mean in an organization?

The word culture carries a lot of meaning. It’s not tangible. You can’t measure it on a chart and you can’t hold it in your hands, yet when we’re inside a positive culture, we just feel it.

Cultural fit is basically the way a company’s mission and values align with its employees. It’s an extremely powerful force when done right. When employees feel a natural connection to the company’s culture, they become more engaged and committed to their work.

Building a strong cultural fit in the organization means people don’t just work at the company, they feel they belong to it and sing the company’s praises wherever they go. Building culture within teams isn’t done quickly, but the rewards are long-standing.

Is cultural fit the same as culture-add?

While they do share some commonalities, cultural fit and culture-add are not interchangeable. Keen managers will want to understand the small difference between the two terms. 

Cultural fit focuses mostly on aligning employees to the company’s core goals and vision. Culture-add prioritizes bringing fresh perspectives into the office to help redefine the company’s culture. 

How does cultural fit apply to the different aspects of your company?

Aligning employees with the company’s culture influences nearly every aspect of a business. Depending on your organizational structure, different operations in your company may be more affected than others. That being said, here are the main areas affected by cultural fit:

Company perception and branding

One of the best ways to start thinking about the significance of your company’s cultural fit is to view yourself from an outside perspective. Cultural fit massively impacts how the public and investors see your company. Having employees who are completely in sync with your work culture translates to a brand that people can trust.

An example of a positive organizational culture can be seen in Southwest Airlines. They’ve built a strong company culture that focuses on three principles; loving people, building resilience, and living responsibly. For years they’ve made sure that the loving people principle applies to their employees, creating an an approach to culture that undoubtedly puts people first. They’ve developed fantastic community programs, including grants for medical transportation, working together with hospitals to let patients fly for free. 

The people-first approach doesn’t only work wonders for internal company morale, it radiates outwards, shaping the way your company is perceived by the public. Think about employees who feel aligned with the company's mission and satisfied with their work. These employees carry your cultural message into their outside lives. They become natural advocates of the company’s culture, having a ripple effect on the people they interact with. 

Lining up your culture and the public’s perception can’t be faked. Customers pick up on it over time. The magnetic quality of employees aligned with the company mission creates a brand people can trust, going far beyond just logos and slogans.

Recruitment and onboarding

Having a strong and healthy cultural fit at work massively impacts your recruitment and onboarding processes. Nailing a culture interview can sharpen your organization’s cultural fit, right from the get-go.

Recruitment relates to how you find and hire the right people for your team, and onboarding is the system that welcomes new hires to integrate them into your company. Both steps are essential for building a team with more than just the right skills. The steps lay the groundwork for a team with complete cultural harmony, holding your company’s values and culture close. 

Hiring for a cultural fit really will minimize the costs of the recruiting and boarding processes. You can even get to grips with cultural alignment in the pre-boarding stage. Hiring someone who doesn’t fit well with your company culture means they aren’t likely to succeed, try as you might. As an example, if you hire someone with a highly collaborative work style, they won’t feel comfortable in a culture that is cutthroat and competitive. 

At the very least, over time they’ll feel like an outsider, and be more likely to underperform and eventually quit. Some industry data highlights the cost of rehiring is as much as 6 to 9 months of the departing employee’s salary. This is tallied up through recruiting, onboarding, and training expenses. 

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) estimates that replacing an employee costs almost $4,500. This doesn’t even account for the added costs of covering their work, training a replacement, and the fact that 25% of new hires leave within their first year.

With these severe costs laid out, it’s easy to see why overlooking cultural fit is a dangerous game to play. Making sure you’re hiring people who understand and complement your company culture minimizes the risks.

Retention and employee engagement

Leading on from attracting the right employees to your company, having a good cultural fit also makes skilled workers more likely to stay with you in the long run. A workplace where staff are aligned with the company’s culture motivates them to weather the storm, if and when times get hard.

Cultural fit aims to create a workplace where everyone feels connected and engaged with their tasks. When cultural fit is done right, every task is carried out with a sense of dedication and engagement. Research shows that companies with high employee engagement are 23% more profitable. This is the result of engaged employees creating a high-performing culture where they think critically, solve problems, go the extra mile, and make smart business decisions.

Instilling a culture of engagement in your workplace can help keep people on board and committed to your company, however rocky the road gets. When employees feel like they belong, they’re much more productive and willing to go the extra mile. 

So stick cultural fit to the top of your priority list and you’re creating the start of a positive cycle. Teams are engaged, and more likely to stay, and when they stay, they help maintain the cultural structure that attracted them in the first place. 

Decisive leadership and improved decision-making

In addition to all of the benefits cultural fit can bring before new employees enter the workplace, a strong work culture can create new leaders in your current teams too. A workplace where people are encouraged to pursue their ideas, even when they’re outside the box, can drive a company toward its goals.

Decisive leadership goes hand in hand with cultural fit. Leaders who resonate with the mission and values of the company they work for can make the decisions needed at the right time. As they lead their team, each person learns to look up to the decision-maker, and they become more relatable. A workplace culture that focuses on trust can benefit greatly as leaders are formed.

This can be especially true for small business owners. In small and medium enterprises (SMEs), employees often have to “change hats,” fulfilling roles outside of their field of expertise. An HR worker might need to chip in with marketing during a busy week, for example. Some parts of each workplace role can overlap, and leadership should be encouraged during difficult times.

At other times, it needs to be you who embodies all the qualities of a leader. You need to set the tone and become the captain of your ship. You need to hold the cultural compass that holds members together and be the leader who navigates your teams across the map. 

Embody the leader you want to see in your teams and give them a reason to rally around your vision. Don’t be afraid to dive into chaos alongside your teams. In the end, a team who are on the same cultural page can handle almost anything that’s thrown at them.

So often when striving for the right cultural fit, it all starts with the team’s manager leading by example. Embody the ultimate leader.

Innovation and Adaptability

Having a strong cultural fit can also create a more innovative and adaptable workforce. Innovation and adaptability keep a company moving forward. The way your teams feel as part of the larger company culture can make all the difference when challenges come your way.

There are many types of work culture, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. A company culture that prioritizes top-down management with a hierarchical structure may be easier to manage, but you might struggle for striking, innovative ideas from your employees. Employees who are part of a bottom-up culture may take longer to generate new ideas, but they’re often the most innovative teams, able to see solutions to unsolvable problems.

Cultural fit is often more than just forcing employees to line up with what your company sees as correct. A company can in fact listen to and reflect upon the ideas and values of its employees. This means creating spaces where people are free to share new ideas, away from judgment. Steer clear of workplace bias against people who want to say something out of the ordinary and watch ideas flourish.

Getting this balance right might be highly specific to your organization, so spend time reflecting on the amount and type of innovation you need for your industry. Some of the best ideas in the world start as scribbles on the back of a paper towel. Make sure you aren’t throwing innovative dreams away.

The customer experience

To say that the customer experience is important might be the understatement of a lifetime. 

The benefits for businesses focused on the customer experience create a list as long as your arm. Highly influential Deloitte data precisely highlights how customer-centric companies reap greater rewards than less customer-focused rivals.

A strong cultural fit at work means your employees can better satisfy every aspect of the customer experience. Research has shown that 49% of customers who stopped using a brand they were loyal to did so because of poor customer experience. One-third of these customers even stated they would leave a brand they love after a single negative experience. So how can your company culture improve the customer experience? Here’s a quick 4-step plan to manage it:

‍1. Understand where you stand:

Start with an honest reflection of where things stand with your customer base. This is a great time for surveys and feedback from both your customers and your teams. You can see if a customer-focused culture is really in place. 

‍2. Kickstart your journey:

Creating a culture your customers feel a bond with takes effort and commitment from the whole team. Drill down to find team members who know your customers best, and keep the company mission transparent. Ensure everyone stays engaged and accountable in this shared journey.

‍3. Keep people at the company’s heart:

There’s no denying it, we live in a world dominated by tech-driven relationships. Don’t lose the human touch in the customer experience. One study from PWC found that 59% of consumers feel companies lack human connection when serving them. People are the core of a strong customer-centered culture.

‍4. Measure progress and celebrate your wins

Tailing off our 4 steps, we want to reinforce that creating a customer-centric culture is a journey. It’s important to keep an eye on the things that truly reflect what your customers value. Remember to celebrate the progress along the way so your teams feel recognized and they continue to deliver an outstanding customer experience.

Cultural fit is forged like a diamond on a teambuilding retreat!

Aligning your employees with a positive and productive work culture can bring your company benefits that last for decades. So where is the best place to set your work culture in stone? Bringing new hires and office veterans on a team-building retreat works wonders for creating a harmonious office culture.

Here at Surf Office, organizing team retreats is what we do best.  

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Here’s what we offer:

• Stress-free transfers? We got you! ✅
• Quality-assured accommodations? Check! ✅
• Engaging team-building activities? Our speciality ✅
• Restaurant reservations? That's on us! ✅
• Expert retreat planning assistance? Of course, we have this covered! ✅
• Onsite support, tailored to your needs? Absolutely ✅

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Not only this but we also have access to 160+ locations around Europe, APAC, the US, Latin America, and now Africa, meaning the sky is your limit when it comes to choosing the right location for you and your team.

Establish a healthy and harmonious culture where teams work for and with one another, welcoming new members. A productive retreat is the ultimate way to bring everyone together for an unforgettable experience.

Let us sort out the tricky logistics for you. Spaces are very limited, so get in touch now!