As the financial industry continues to evolve, embracing new generations of employees and innovative technology, diversity is becoming a more prominent priority for recruitment teams. Diversity, inclusivity, and equity aren’t longer checkboxes in a recruitment strategy.
Research has demonstrated that diverse teams in the finance industry can lead to up to a 25% increase in profitability and enhanced adaptability and resilience within organisations. These benefits underscore the value of diversity in finance teams.
Unfortunately, many hiring managers and HR teams are still taking an outdated approach to assessing candidates, focusing on “cultural fit”.
That’s where the concept of “culture add” comes in – encouraging business leaders to identify individuals who don’t align with core organisational values, but can introduce their own unique perspective, skills, and values to a financial team.
Understanding Culture in Finance Teams
Culture is an important concept for finance teams. An organisation’s culture is a culmination of all the shared beliefs, values, and behaviours that guide how people work together in a team. It influences team dynamics, decision-making, and innovation in the finance sector.
Many finance teams have a distinct culture built on precision, analytical rigour, and a strong focus on compliance. All of those cultural components are important. After all, when handling massive budgets, regulatory requirements, and financial forecasting, there’s little room for error.
That’s why organisations often invest a lot of time and effort into maintaining and shaping the same culture, with structured training and a rigid approach to assessing candidates based on their technical skills and personality traits that “match” those of existing employees.
Unfortunately, this process can create a culture where new ideas and innovation struggle to thrive. Diversity suffers when companies focus on preserving the same culture rather than allowing it to evolve and adapt naturally to new perspectives.
Alternatively, organisations embracing diversity are more profitable, productive, engaged, and innovative. Studies from McKinsey prove this, showing that diverse teams lead to a 39% increase in the likelihood of enhanced team performance. This is a promising future for the finance industry, where diversity is not just a buzzword, but a key driver of success.
The Problems with Hiring for Culture Fit
For finance teams, hiring for cultural fit has been the norm for some time. Hiring people with the same values, skills, and even backgrounds as existing employees has some benefits. It can help to strengthen team cohesion, reducing the risk of conflicts between employees.
New employees who share common ground with existing team members might also be able to adapt faster to common workplace processes and form stronger relationships with colleagues.
However, the practice of hiring for cultural fit also has its drawbacks. It can lead to the creation of ‘monocultures’—work environments where everyone thinks and acts in a similar manner, leaving little room for new perspectives and ideas.
Hiring for cultural fit also creates various other issues, such as:
Diversity and Inclusion Roadblocks
Hiring for cultural fit can make it harder for finance companies to achieve their diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Cultural fit hiring hinges on implicit biases, prompting hiring managers and HR teams to look for people who share qualities with existing employees and overlook other candidates.
Companies often miss opportunities to find team members who could bring diverse experiences and skills to the table, limiting growth. They also risk building an environment that discriminates against specific types of employees.
Innovation Stagnation
Innovation thrives on diverse thinking. When teams are composed of individuals with similar mindsets, there’s a risk of groupthink. The desire to maintain harmony results in irrational or dysfunctional decision-making.
In the finance sector, where market conditions and client needs are continually evolving, the inability to innovate can lead to missed opportunities and a failure to stay competitive. Conversely, diverse teams are better equipped to challenge the status quo, explore new ideas, and drive the organisation forward. This is the potential for growth and innovation that diverse teams bring to the finance industry.
Perpetuation of Outdated Practices
Strict adherence to cultural fit can also reinforce outdated practices. New hires who perfectly align with the existing culture are less likely to question established processes or introduce new methodologies.
While this might maintain short-term stability, it can prevent the organisation from evolving and adapting to new challenges or technological advancements. In an industry as fast-paced as finance, the inability to adapt can be detrimental to long-term success.
The Benefits of Embracing Culture Add in Finance Hiring
Hiring for “culture add” encourages finance leaders to rethink how they evaluate candidates based on what they can contribute to the business – rather than focusing on maintaining existing norms. Although companies can still look for employees who share similar values and relevant skills, they begin to prioritise diversity in hiring decisions.
It’s all about shifting from conformity to diversity of thoughts, perspectives, personalities, and experiences. Hiring managers begin to build teams of the most “able” people. This leads to a range of benefits, such as:
Diverse Perspectives Enhance Problem-Solving
Finance professionals routinely tackle complex challenges, from navigating volatile markets to dealing with regulatory compliance. Integrating team members with varied backgrounds fosters many viewpoints, leading to more comprehensive analyses and innovative solutions.
For instance, a team comprising individuals with expertise in technology, economics, and behavioural finance can collaboratively devise robust and nuanced strategies.
Innovation in Financial Processes and Reporting
Stagnation is a risk when teams lack diversity in thought and experience. “Culture add” hires can introduce novel methodologies and technologies, streamlining financial processes and enhancing reporting accuracy. Embracing diverse talent encourages the adoption of cutting-edge tools and practices, positioning finance departments at the forefront of industry advancements.
Companies could even hire team members with international experience who can bring insights into different regulatory compliance guidelines across geographies.
Enhanced Adaptability
Diverse finance teams are inherently more adaptable because they can share perspectives, ideas, and skills to overcome risks and challenges. They can more effectively identify and understand risks from different angles and learn collaboratively from each other.
“Culture add” hiring can even bring people to a team with new skills in data science, cybersecurity, or artificial intelligence. That means departments can adapt faster to different emerging trends and challenges.
Implementing a Culture Add Approach to Hiring
Embracing a “culture-add” approach in finance hiring takes work. It requires hiring managers and HR teams to take a proactive approach to overcome conscious and unconscious bias in hiring decisions and rethink how they assess candidates on a broad scale.
Here’s how you can get started.
Step 1: Define Your Current Culture
Start by taking a good, hard look at your existing team. Identify the dominant skills, backgrounds, and viewpoints. Are you seeing a lot of the same? Pinpointing these patterns could help you recognise what’s missing and identify specific characteristics you want to retain.
For instance, you might want to ensure that the new candidates you hire share similar values linked to accuracy, data analysis, and proactivity but also offer new and diverse opinions.
Step 2: Reframe Job Descriptions
Once you’ve identified what your team lacks, it’s time to rethink how you attract new talent. Traditional job descriptions often emphasise fitting into the existing culture. Instead, they highlight the value of diverse experiences and fresh ideas.
For example, instead of stating, “We are Looking for a team player who aligns with our current practices,” you might say, “We are seeking innovative thinkers who can introduce new financial strategies.” Assess job descriptions carefully, looking for language that might deter diverse applicants.
Step 3: Redesign Interview Questions and Assessment Criteria
Your interview process should reflect this new emphasis on culture. Craft questions that explore a candidate’s ability to contribute new perspectives. Ask about times they’ve challenged the status quo or introduced innovative solutions in previous roles.
Consider incorporating practical assessments that allow candidates to showcase how their unique skills can benefit your team. Don’t just focus on assessing a candidate’s traditional qualifications – look at all the diverse skills they can bring.
Step 5: Establish Inclusive Onboarding Practices
Bringing in diverse talent is only half the battle; ensuring they feel welcomed and valued is equally important. Develop onboarding programs celebrating new perspectives and integrating fresh voices into the team dynamic.
This might involve assigning mentors, creating platforms for new hires to share their ideas, or fostering an inclusive environment where all contributions are encouraged and respected. Have a plan in place for how you’ll address potential conflicts between teams and strengthen relationships between employees from different backgrounds.
Step 6: Measuring Success
Finally, determine how you’ll measure the impact of your “culture add” hiring approach. You might track metrics linked to team innovation, exploring how often new candidates and employees introduce creative ideas and solutions to problems.
You could also track diversity statistics and monitor employee engagement and retention rates to see how new perspectives are improving team cohesion and staff satisfaction rates. Also, pay attention to how adaptable and resilient your employees become. Diversity can help improve how your team pivots to accommodate shifts and changes in trends.
Rethinking Finance Hiring: Culture Add over Culture Fit
Building an incredible finance team is about more than just searching for candidates who share the values and perspectives of existing teams. Embracing culturally diverse hiring is how organisations can ensure they’re truly leveraging the benefits of diverse perspectives and skillsets.
As the finance world continues to evolve, your recruitment process shouldn’t be cemented in finding “more of the same” to add to your team. You should be looking to constantly nurture and enhance your culture with new insights and experiences. Make the shift from culture fit to culture add, and your organisation will be more likely to thrive.
Thanks
Rachel
About Rebus Financial Recruitment
Rebus Financial Recruitment provides a specialist and focused recruitment service to its customers, ranging from various organisations, including SMEs, to large PLCs.
We strive to offer both the client and candidate a seamless recruitment experience. Using our expertise, we understand employer and employee needs and match them perfectly.
To learn more, contact one of our team members today or call us at 01282 930930.
