Welcome to Mind Tools' Video Learning Series. Recruiting the right people is one of the most important tasks you'll face as a manager. You might think that you should hire people who will blend in straight away, but this cultural fit approach doesn't always get the best results. Hiring for cultural fit means recruiting people who share your team's values and ways of working. This approach can build happy, cohesive teams but it may stifle innovation and lead to bias against people who are different or group think at the expense of new ideas. Instead think about recruiting for cultural add. This means recruiting people who can bring something fresh to your team's culture. They share your organizational values, but they also have something new to offer. Cultural add overcomes the limitations of recruiting for cultural fit while still maintaining a cohesive team. So let's look at five steps you can take to start recruiting for cultural add. First, define your culture. Ask your team to pinpoint the specific traits and behaviors that characterize its culture. Then ask yourself, "What's missing? What could a new person bring to the team?" At the same time consider the important things that shouldn't change. We all have unconscious biases, but you need to guard against them if you wanna avoid hiring for cultural fit. To do this, write neutral job descriptions, reach out to a wide pool of applicants and use broad interviewing panels. It's also important to objectively measure candidate skills. For example, by using aptitude tests or asking competency based questions. Cultural fit still matters. Even when you're hiring for cultural add, you want people who respect, protect, and uphold your existing vision and values. Check that your employer branding accurately reflects your culture and reject applicants who'd clearly be a poor cultural fit or who might create discord and conflict. However, be mindful that a candidate who at first appears to be quite different from your other team members may have exactly what you need. Tell candidates that you're looking for cultural add and ask questions about their specific attributes and skills. What new ideas can they bring to your team? Hiring for cultural add isn't just about building a diverse workforce. You also need to make the most of your recruits, talents, ideas, and experience. Once they're hired, take some time with your new team member to discuss how you'll work together. This may involve adjusting procedures or workflows or finding new ways to accommodate them in the team. The more open-minded and flexible you can be, the more your team will benefit. To learn more about cultural add and cultural fit, see the article that a accompanies this video. © 2022 Mind Tools by Emerald Works Limited.