fbpx

Skills vs Culture Fit: Which comes first when hiring in procurement?

by | Aug 8, 2019 | Procurement and Contracting

Who should you hire: the procurement pro with excellent skills who seems like a poor culture fit, or the person with weaker skills who fits in culturally?

This is a critical consideration when you’re growing your team. It can be tempting to overlook culture fit in favour of skills, so you can be confident your new hire can hit the ground running.

But can you afford to compromise on culture fit?

Sourcing procurement professionals who have the right soft skills, values and work ethic to thrive in the company could be the key to building a high-performance team.

So, should you hire for skills first? Or is culture fit more important?

Let’s weigh up both sides of the debate:

Hire for Culture Fit

Why is it important to align corporate and personal values? Because it will result in happier, more engaged employees, which will contribute to the company’s bottom line.

Take a look at the evidence.

According to a study by Leadership IQ, 46% of newly hired employees will fail within 18 months. Of those who fail, 11% lack the necessary technical skills, while the other 89% have difficulties integrating into the workplace.

The fact is, an employee who fails to fit within your work culture is more likely to leave for a company that is more aligned with their values. This is a costly risk – turnover from a bad culture fit can cost an organisation between 50-60% of the person’s annual salary, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Another HR buzzword that comes up when we talk about culture fit is engagement.

Author of Employee Engagement For Everyone, Kevin Kruse, defines employee engagement as the emotional commitment of the employee to the organisation and its goals. Engaged employees go the extra mile, work with passion, and feel a profound connection to their company.

Engagement can be an incredibly powerful force. The Workplace Research Foundation found that highly engaged employees are 38% more likely to have above-average productivity. Also, organisations with engaged employees are proven to outperform those without by 202%.

Finally, remember that skills can be taught – attitude cannot.

This is compelling evidence for the culture fit argument.

However, it’s only one side of the debate.

Hire for Skills

What if the candidate is head and shoulders above the rest in terms of skills? Should you still

make a hiring decision based on cultural fit alone?

There are drawbacks to this approach.

Focusing on culture fit can result in a team of people who think and act the same. The goal should always be to create a well-rounded team with different strengths.

Also, if you focus entirely on culture fit, you could be at risk of having a skills shortage in your team. This means more training, which takes time and resources.

Our Verdict

The fact is, in fast-paced, agile work environments, soft skills, work ethic and personal values are everything. Specific skills can be taught – and self-motivated, driven team members will always seek out new opportunities to learn.

In reality, the best approach may be to strike a balance of talent and attitude. Stop focusing on whether candidates are likely to conform to your company’s culture. Instead, find out whether they are likely to succeed alongside other team members and can positively support your organisation’s values.

Got a skills gap in your team you need to close fast?  Check out our short online courses here – https://bit.ly/2TUsvyY

Recent Blog Posts Testimonials

“I engaged Michael Young from Transformed to assess me for the Australian Institute of Project Management Certified Practicing Project Manager. I wanted to be certified as I wanted to verify that the skills and knowledge was in line with industry best-practice. At first it seemed a bit daunting, however, Michael made the process very easy, providing templates for references and self-assessment as well as providing a list of the project management documents I would need to provide as evidence. The assessment interview was very relaxed and more like a conversation than an assessment, which brought out the best experiences to evidence my capabilities. Because of Michael’s current government security clearance, we were able to look at specific of particular projects, rather me than having to spend a heap of time sanitising documents. Since the assessment, I have been successful in gaining a promotion..”

Mike McCarthy

“I am so appreciative of you and Transformed for your flexibility and support- THANK YOU”

Louise Anderson
Cert IV in P & C student - May 2020

“Working at my own pace online and the response time to emails and responses were always great”

Ekaterina Sidorova
Lend Lease

“I want to thank you for providing that encouragement and feed back at appropriate times. You make me and I’m sure all students, feel special and like we are getting personal assistance, which I have received. I don’t know how you manage all that you do but you do it well. Thank you”

Darrell
Cert IV in NatHERS Assessment student

“The self-paced learning it allowed me to work whilst studying”

Haylea Edwards
Efficient Living

“The course is really well organised, your videos and zoom meetings were extremely helpful, the platform functions perfectly, your response time to queries and questions is always prompt and overall it is just been a wonderful experience”

Melanie
Cert IV in HEES student, July 2021.

“Thanks for your support over the years and I look forward to doing more courses at Transformed in the future”.

Gerard
Cert IV in HEES - March 2022

“I’m extremely impressed by The Cert IV in HEES delivered by Transformed. It is a fantastic, relevant, and interesting course with great content. The study materials and assistance have been exceptional. Thanks again to Transformed for their support”.

Matt Wade
Cert IV in HEES Student – April 2022.

“Don has been a terrific teacher and very prompt with feedback throughout the whole diploma, which has been great!”

Anna
Diploma of PM

“Just wanted to say thank you so much for offering such a great course, I have really enjoyed studying my Certificate IV in Home Energy Efficiency and Sustainability with Transformed”.

Melanie
Cert IV in HEES student, July 2021

“All round I’ve been really impressed with how professional everyone at Transformed has been”

Anna
Diploma of PM

“Always good and prompt feedback from Michael”

John Logan
Draft Comps Services

“My assessor was absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t have achieved this without her encouragement and guidance’.

Simone
Cert IV in Procurement & Contracting - March 2022

“I also want to take the opportunity to thank you for all your help during my studies. I think your training company is very professional and I would endorse you and Transformed to anyone looking to study distance learning”

Doug Madarovski

“I found the course easy to follow and navigate through. I would recommend this course to others”

Ekan
August 2018

“Ease of delivery, completing from work”

Simone
Qld Health

“Just wanted to say thanks for putting up with me and getting me over the line!! Which I know was a bit difficult with no background in the industry!! Thanks very much and I look forward to starting my business and conquering the world as an Energy Rater!”

Laura Lace

“I am very satisfy with the study”

Eric Lam

“Phenomenal course to understand contract management in the best way possible. I am working as a Procurement Manager and never understood contract part completely but this course helped me to understand key points of contract management. Thanks to author for creating this wonderful course. ”

Nitin
Student - Introduction to Contract Management - August 2021

“Easy to deal with”

Laura Lace

“Learning – I have now fine-tuned my existing skills”

Brian Peterson
Moreton Bay Regional Council

“I think everything worked very smoothly”

Susan Mariott
Quality Home Design and Drafting Service

“The most practical and well organised course I’ve been involved with, perfect for anyone with a demanding full time career and family commitments. My facilitator was extremely helpful and being part of the construction industry applied a very focused approach to the course content which assisted me in completing my studies, Would strongly and have already recommended Transformed to those looking to complete their Cert IV and Diploma in Building and Construction. Thanks for all your efforts and support.”

Aleks Petrovic
Cert IV and Diploma in Building and Construction Student

“The excellent and prompt communication from my assessor”

Cert IV in NatHERS Assessment student

“…I originally enrolled in Transformed’s Diploma of Project Management on the basis of their flexibility. ..As I subsequently discovered, Transformed’s approach extends even further to include ‘one on one’ coaching sessions… and adjusting the training to fit in with the client..”

Michael Irwin
Austrade
Archives