Cultural fit interviews are used to single out candidates whose values, beliefs and behaviours fit in with your company’s culture. Seeing as you are often unable to meet remote employees face-to-face, a culture fit interview can go a long way to indicate how well a candidate might fit in with your staff members.
What is the goal of this meeting?
Clearly reach consensus on which remote candidate to hire based on developed criteria.
What tools will I need for this meeting?
Video conferencing tool and a collaboration platform which supports stickies.
How much time should I set aside?
You will need about 45 mins – 1 hour to complete this session.
Who should be there?
4 – 8 staff members from different departments, selected at random or by their availability to attend.
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MEETING AGENDA |
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Timing |
Title of Session |
Description |
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5 min |
Check-in |
The meeting facilitator sets the scene for what will be done in the session. This includes an introduction – each staff member introduces themselves to the candidate and reveals the reason behind their Zoom background choice. |
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5 min |
Either-Or |
The candidate chooses one of two options in a series of three questions. |
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10 min |
Deep and Meaningful |
Each staff member asks the candidate one deep and meaningful question. |
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5 min |
Turn The Tables |
Candidate gets to ask the participants any questions they have. |
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15 min |
Candidate Scoring |
The team gives the candidate a score after the interview. |
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| 5 min | Closing |
Finishing comments and remarks to be discussed |
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Check-In | 5 Minute Discussion
As part of the information you send out in your meeting request, ask that each of the participants set a virtual background to the theme of “Where I would Rather Be”. You can do this in Google Meet, Zoom or Teams. As each participant introduces themselves, they have a chance to elaborate on their choice of location.
Either-Or | 5-minute discussion
Taking your company culture, quirks and inside jokes into account, compile three ‘either-or’ type questions and ask the candidate to choose their preference between the two. For our example, we’re asking candidates to choose between: sunrises or sunsets; pandas or racoons; pirates or the Navy.
The candidate can reveal their answers and can discuss their choices and the background of the questions with the participants.
Deep & Meaningful Questions | 10 Minute Discussion
Prior to the meeting, ask each participant to input one ‘deep and meaningful’ question into the culture fit slide deck. The idea is that these questions should not relate to work, but should rather try to get a sense of who the interviewee is. The candidate can then choose questions at random to answer. You could also ask the candidate to guess which participant posed each question before they answer it.
Turn the Tables | 5 Minute Discussion
Allow the candidate a few minutes to ask the participants any questions they may have around the company culture and what it’s like to work with you.
Once you’re done, thank the candidate for their time and allow the participants to say goodbye. The participants stay on the call as the candidate leaves so they can score the candidate.
Candidate Scoring | 10 Minutes Silence
Using predefined criteria, the participants can vote on which candidate they think is the best fit for the organisation. For this example we’ve used three guiding questions: Would the candidate enjoy working here?; Would you hang out with the candidate after work?; and Would you have the candidate on your team? A simple scoring mechanism using Google Excel works well to manage the candidate’s scores.
Each participant takes a few minutes to rate and score the candidate. Once each candidate has been interviewed and scored, you can clearly see the candidate best suited to company culture.
Closing | 5 minutes
Thank the participants for their time and involvement, and draw the meeting to a close.
