HIRING MISTAKE: prioritising technical skills over cultural fit

🎶 And bad mistakes, I’ve made a few… 🎶

Every IT Manager has been there. You find a candidate with an impressive resume, a long list of certifications, and a flawless technical interview. You hire them, confident they’ll be a game-changer for your IT department.

Fast forward six months:

❌ They don’t communicate well with the team.

❌ They resist feedback and struggle with collaboration.

❌ Morale is down, and your once-thriving IT department is now full of tension.

The Problem? You Hired for Skills, Not for Fit.

Technical expertise is important—there’s no arguing that. But if a new hire doesn’t mesh with the team, share the company’s values, or work well within the existing culture, their technical brilliance won’t save them (or your department) from disruption.

The good news? Technical skills can be taught. Attitude, adaptability, and collaboration are much harder to train. That’s why cultural fit should be a top priority in your IT hiring strategy.

How to Hire for Cultural Fit (Without Guesswork)

Next time you’re interviewing a candidate, go beyond their certifications and GitHub repos. Dig into:

✅ Conflict Management: “Tell me about the last conflict you had at work. How did you handle it?”

✅ Workplace Frustrations: “What’s something that really annoyed you in a past job?”

✅ Teamwork & Adaptability: “If I asked your last boss about your work style, what would they say?”

These questions help uncover how a candidate truly operates within a team, how they handle challenges, and whether their work style complements (or clashes with) your existing team dynamics.

Know Your Own Culture First

Hiring for cultural fit only works if you understand your company’s culture and your team’s dynamics. If you don’t have a clear sense of what makes your IT department tick, you might end up hiring a “good sheep” 🐑—only to drop them into a herd of goats 🐐 🐐 🐐.

That doesn’t mean you should always hire people exactly like the existing team. Sometimes, a different perspective is exactly what’s needed—but you need to be intentional about it.

Final Thought: The Right Balance Matters

Of course, cultural fit doesn’t mean hiring clones. Diversity in thought, background, and personality is essential for innovation. But hiring someone whose values, collaboration style, and communication approach align with your team will set them—and your department—up for success.

So, next time you’re hiring, don’t just ask yourself, “Can they do the job?” Ask, “Will they thrive here?”