Majority of CFOs have hired employee who did not fit team 

• 64% of Hong Kong CFOs have hired an employee who did not fit in well with their team
• The main reasons why new employees do not fit in well include lack of team spirit, lack of adaptability, misalignment with corporate culture and lack of skills
• One in three CFOs who hired an employee who didn’t fit in were forced to let employee go

Team cohesion is essential to ensure all staff are satisfied and productive in their roles. Yet research commissioned by recruitment firm Robert Half has revealed almost two out of three Hong Kong CFOs have hired an employee who did not fit in well with their team. 

According to these CFOs, the top five reasons why employees struggled to fit in well with their new team were: a lack of team spirit (40%), lack of adaptability (33%), misalignment with corporate culture (31%), underperformance / lack of skills (31%) and an inability to work independently (29%). 

Adam Johnston, Managing Director, Robert Half Hong Kong commented, “The importance of checking cultural fit before extending an offer to a candidate cannot be underestimated, as the lack of it is one of the main reasons why employees leave or are asked to leave. This can also incur significant costs, with non-monetary damages including increased workloads for existing team members and lost productivity, not the mention having to restart the hiring process from scratch.”

Johnston concluded, “In order to minimise the risk of hiring an employee who does not fit in well with the team and corporate culture, employers need to ensure the hiring process is a thorough procedure that goes beyond identifying a candidate’s ability to do the job in question. Hiring managers also need to look at each candidate’s personal qualities to ensure a corporate fit with both the team and the company values.”