Beyond bottom lines and profit margins, the success of a company is more often than not a reflection of the company culture and values. The culture of a company is a living, breathing entity that has a say in everything – from how company employees view work to how the organization deals with benefits and rewards. A company’s culture is the sum total of what its processes are and also what they stand for.

There can be a lot of uncertainty involved in the hiring process. While many organizations in other parts of the world focus on choosing between a candidate being a culture fit or a culture add, here in India, it seems companies balance both aspects. 

And this is why it becomes critical for an employer to correctly and closely assess a candidate’s personal values. This is usually done through a free-flowing interaction with the candidate during the interview. An interviewer and an interviewee can benefit from a candid interaction not only because it helps establish a personal connection, but also because it provides a break from the rigid screening process.

According to the findings of the Indeed and People Matters Recruitment Outlook 2022, employers use various techniques to understand a candidate’s suitability for a particular position while also gauging the personal values that a candidate holds dear. These range from open-ended questions and personality tests to structured interviews and cognitive and behavioral tests.

So what are the preferred interview techniques in the industry and what is the adoption rate for the same

Here are some major trends: 

1) High reliance on open-ended questions
As per the report, which included in its methodology market trend analysis and insights from subject matter experts, more than half respondents (50.6%) relied on open-ended questions to assess a candidate’s personal values.

2) Personality tests
Tests to assess human personality constricts figured next on the list with 45.1% respondents using it as a means of understanding the candidate better during the interview process.

3) Judging candidates’ response to critical work situations
Situational judgment tests, in which a work situation or a critical problem associated with the job at hand is presented to the candidate to assess their response, was used by 35.2% of respondents.

4) Other testing methods
Structured interviews, cognitive and behavioral tests, emotional intelligence tests and employee integrity tests were next, used by 23.3%, 22.3% and 16.6% respondents respectively.
Giving invaluable insights into what Culture Fit truly means and how as a process it continues way past the onboarding process, Cigniti’s chief marketing officer Sairam Vedam said, “Culture fit is not something that you can capture with a metric. You can’t get someone who’s exactly fit for your culture. That happens through a lot of inclusion, a lot of reading of the human mind. That is an untold metric.”

To read more about the latest trends and analysis about the Indian talent ecosystem, download the Indeed and People Matters Recruitment Outlook 2022.