How Do You Balance the Importance of Hiring for Tech Skills and Cultural Fit?
The importance of hiring tech professionals with the right skill sets is obvious. Systems are only as good as the people who design them, maintain them and keep them secure. However, soft skills and cultural alignment are also critical for success. A team member whose values align with corporate values and who has the necessary personal attributes to succeed, will make a positive impact on the organization and will be more engaged and productive in their work.
Hiring someone who is the upper echelon of developers can feel like a major win, but if that person is toxically negative or if they don’t believe in the work of the organization, they can’t be successful. The best hires are those who have a solid balance of technical qualifications and cultural alignment.
Striking the Right Balance
Finding a balance between cultural fit and technical skills isn’t easy. Often, you’ll find candidates tend to skew one way or the other. Say you have narrowed the field to two choices. One checks off every box on your technical wish list but doesn’t seem like a cultural match. The other comes to the table with a plethora of soft skills and fully believes in your company’s mission, vision and values, but lacks a few skills. Who do you choose?
If you and your team are honest, you may be able to live without a few skills to hire someone who fits in well and is culturally aligned. Skills can always be learned, and someone with solid soft skills likely embraces the chance to learn more. The key to striking the balance is to be realistic. You cannot change someone’s attitudes or personality, but you can invest in their professional development. If you are clear about your true needs, you can make honest assessments about a candidate’s alignments.
Work With a Tech Recruiting Expert
Hiring tech pros who have the skills and personal attributes to succeed is both an art form and a science. The best way to start making strong hiring choices is to partner with a tech recruiting firm that focuses on hiring for true cultural fit.
When vetting potential partners, make sure the firm fully understands and can predict with accuracy how their candidates will mesh with your team and add value to your organization.
CultureFit, one of Chicago’s leading tech recruiting firms has made it our business to help employers hire for both skill alignment and cultural alignment. If you are looking for top tech talent in Chicago, CultureFit can help. Our Chicago IT recruiters can help you identify candidates who have both the hard and soft skills to succeed within your organizational culture. Contact CultureFit today to learn about the ways we can help you achieve your IT staffing goals.
