How to Determine if an In-House Legal Candidate is a Culture Fit
/Why finding cultural fit matters and how to evaluate a candidate's potential during the interview process
A candidate looks great on paper. They have the education, experience, and maybe even some technical skills that differentiate them from the applicant pool. But the reality is altogether different when that person is hired. Their nature shines through and you realize that the star candidate is a bad employee who does not fit the culture of your organization.
If you’ve ever figured this out during the interview process, consider yourself fortunate—you were able to spot the issue before you hired them. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to do.
Finding candidates who are a good cultural fit is a critical part of the interview process. It results in a better overall work environment and increases a new hire’s chances of success. But aside from a “gut feeling,” how can you more accurately determine if a candidate will work well with the team?
Why culture matters
Company culture is the identity of an organization. It outlines how that organization behaves and makes decisions following a set of core values. Culture includes things like communication style, how to collaborate with other employees, how to treat clients, and the baseline expectations of honesty and integrity.
An in-house attorney will be interacting with a variety of employees and advising on important decisions. Culture matters because this candidate needs to consistently act in accordance with the right values. The wrong cultural fit could result in internal tension and strained relationships at best, and legal liability for the organization at worst. And regardless of those potential consequences, it almost certainly ends up in the hire not lasting long during a rocky tenure.
Lawyers will be more successful when they fit into and abide by the culture of an organization. They understand what’s expected of them, so they will be more productive and focused. They may also feel more comfortable sharing ideas, speaking up, and interacting with a range of internal clients—which are all key attributes for in-house counsel.
Finding the right cultural fit is also important for the organization’s productivity and bottom line. According to a study of over 20,000 hiring managers, 46% of newly hired employees fail within the first 18 months. 89% do so because of failure to integrate into the workplace—and a big reason is that they did not fit with the company’s culture. The cost of this turnover—in both lost productivity and the expense of finding a replacement—is significant, especially given that in-house legal positions tend to be very well-compensated.
Determining a candidate’s values and behaviors during the interview process is critical to avoiding this problem. And these elements should be prioritized just as much as evaluating their hard skills.
How to find a good culture fit
To attract candidates that are a good fit with your company’s culture, you first have to recognize what that culture is and communicate it very clearly. Your core values and mission statement should be readily available during the hiring process. The hope is to filter some candidates before the interview phase by only attracting those who identify with your culture and warning away those who don’t.
Once the applications roll in and are shortlisted for interviews, there are a few other tactics to determine whether or not a candidate will succeed with your company’s culture:
Well-designed interview questions include behavioral questions
A great interviewer will ask questions that pull the necessary information from the candidate. Asking certain limited, straightforward questions that elicit plain answers probably won’t tell you much about that person’s attitude or behavior. Questions can be posed creatively to help you envision how a candidate will operate.
Behavioral interviews are a common practice that allows candidates an opportunity to discuss how they would handle a specific situation or how they have handled specific situations in the past. They are designed to dig a little deeper than normal interview questions to get at the individual’s personality and skill set.
To effectively ask behavioral questions, you need to decide which fundamental skills the candidate should have to 'pass' the interview. These, of course, include hard skills like software and legal practice area competency, but cultural fit is typically determined by soft skills like conflict resolution or team building.
Design some questions with the latter skills in mind. Some examples of effective interview questions include:
What about our organization appeals to you?
This will not only give you a glimpse into how the candidate views your organization, but it will also tell you whether or not they did their research before coming in for the interview. A prepared candidate is a good indication of a motivated team member.
How would you describe your work style? [You can provide the candidate situational examples]
Every organization has a distinct work style. Some are all about collaboration, while others encourage independent decision-making. The answer to this question is a big indicator of how the candidate will work with the rest of the employees. If they prefer to work alone and don’t tend to solicit input from others—but your company is highly collaborative—this could be a problem down the road.
Tell me about a time that you demonstrated integrity in the workplace. Explain the issue and how you handled it.
Although every organization’s core values vary, it’s safe to say that most value integrity—and this is an essential characteristic for an attorney. This question is intended to have candidates reflect on a difficult time in their career. The answer will tell you both how they frame problems and navigate these challenges.
Of course, it’s also important to ask many of the traditional interview questions to ensure that candidates have the hard skills necessary to do the job. However, behavioral questions will give you greater insight into who the candidate is as a person and how they manage themselves in the workplace—and whether those things gel with your organization’s culture.
Gauge their interaction with the team
Companies have an overall culture, but each team within that company has a sub-culture of its own. Oftentimes, candidates are interviewed by management and then meet the team on their first day of work. But this is the group that most needs to work well together, so it’s valuable to test how the candidate fits before they’re hired.
Include the team in the interview process, or at least allow them the opportunity to meet the candidate before a final decision is made. Set up a time for the group to interact with the candidate on their own. They can ask questions about things that matter to them and get a sense of how the candidate would work with the group.
Culture is key—find the right fit before making a hire
Establishing a cohesive culture in your organization doesn’t mean that everyone thinks and acts the same way, of course. Candidates have unique abilities, traits, and personalities that contribute to the overall wellbeing of the company. The commonality, however, should lie in what they value, what is expected of them, and how those factors interact. Having and acting on similar values and priorities are what make a good team and company tick.
The search for a high-quality legal candidate that fits with your culture can be difficult and costly—and so can be making the wrong hire. A legal executive search consultant will take the time to learn about your company culture to match the right candidates. This diligence can help avoid missteps, save time and money, and quickly build a productive team.
Carrington Legal Search is devoted to finding the ideal candidates for our clients’ recruitment needs. We have a long track record of nailing cultural fit, placing candidates who stay and are continuously promoted. To make our nationwide network work for you, get in touch at 512-627-7467 or email carrie@carringtonlegal.com.