Culture Fits and Corporate Thanksgiving Celebrations

In the Human Resources and Talent Management industry, we love a good culture fit. Finding a great cultural match can create a perfect hiring match. But what is a great culture fit anyway? How do you know when you have found a good culture fit? How do you define “good” culture? There are many ways to compare culture fits, but one of the best happens around this time of the year and involves Thanksgiving dinner.

We have systems, assessments tools, and metrics to ensure we screen for certain skills and characteristics in new hires, but finding a great match is not always this simple. A portion of culture fit is also determined by diversity, a broad perspective, and an ability to assimilate within the organization.

When you look at corporate career pages, websites, and talent communities, examples of culture fit are evident. It’s important to pay attention to what a company shares online because they are not only advertising their culture, but they are also showing off their best employees. The employees highlighted represent what that company values as a good culture fit.

When the air gets crisp and the leaves fall to the ground, we begin to reflect over the passing year and tend to feel more thankful. Normally, we are thankful for our families, our health, and our jobs. We are also thankful for our bosses and co-workers. One of the best ways we celebrate our thankfulness is with food. In the U.S., we are entering the season of potlucks and Thanksgiving dinners.

Many of us will celebrate Thanksgiving because it’s an American tradition. However, not everyone observes Thanksgiving because of different religious beliefs, ethnicities, or cultural backgrounds. Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, one thing is for certain: food is appreciated universally and accepted as a symbol of thanks and caring. Sharing a meal is still one of the most sincere forms of friendship, and cooking for someone is a personal gesture that shows how highly you regard him or her. You can learn a lot about peoples’ culture based on the meals they cook and share.

Growing up in the South, for Thanksgiving we always had the same dinner: turkey and dressing, mac and cheese, collard greens, cabbage, potato salad, rolls, and pumpkin pie. It was great! That’s what all my friends had for dinner too. Culturally, we all fit together, but we weren’t too diverse or open to new experiences. It wasn’t until I went away to college in the Mid-West that I experienced other Thanksgiving foods like roasted pig, baked beans, kidney-bean salad, fresh cranberry sauce (not the canned gelatin), stuffing with raisins and nuts, and marshmallows atop a sweet potato casserole.

In corporate America, having a “Day of Thanks” or “Harvest” feast is a great way to acknowledge all the wonderful cultures in your company. It’s also a good way to measure employee engagement. If your staff participates in the feast, then you know sharing is a part of your culture.

If your corporate holiday-dinner table features primarily traditional dishes, then you likely have a more homogenous corporate culture. If there are a variety of dishes representing many ethnicities and experiences – from old favorites like turkey and dressing to new additions like curry lamb and pho noodles – then you know that your hiring process selects outstanding culture-fit hires for your organization.