Last week, we celebrated Kristen’s 6th anniversary by introducing a new series called “Ask Kristen” (AKA: Ask Risch!) and received tons of great questions! Several focused on how we determine fit, and I absolutely love this because it gives me the perfect opportunity to share our game-changing approach.

Mindy Passmore asked about assessing mission and values alignment beyond just skills, Michele Harris wanted to know our “secret sauce” for hiring candidates who stick and fit, and Melissa Flynne was curious about better ways to evaluate cultural fit. These are all variations of the same critical challenge every organization faces: how do you identify candidates who will thrive long-term, not just perform well in the interview?

At our firm, we’ve developed what we call our Four-Dimensional Fit approach. We’ve written before about the importance of defining “fit” objectively to avoid bias and ensure we’re looking for “culture adds” rather than just people we’d like to hang out with. https://rischresults.com/how-recruiters-should-define-fit/

Building on that foundation, we evaluate candidates across four distinct but interconnected dimensions:

1. Strategic Fit

This is about alignment with the organization’s mission, goals, and vision for growth. We dig deep into whether candidates truly understand and connect with the purpose of our clients. Do they get excited about the long-term objectives? Can they articulate how their role contributes to the broader impact? Strategic fit ensures everyone is rowing in the same direction.

2. Cultural Fit

Here we assess the candidate’s approach to collaboration, inclusion, and communication. This isn’t about finding people who are exactly like the rest of the team, it’s about finding those who can contribute to and thrive in our clients’ culture while bringing new perspectives and approaches. We look at how candidates have worked with diverse stakeholders, built strong relationships, and demonstrated alignment with our clients’ values.

3. Operational Fit

This dimension focuses on the candidate’s proven ability to manage responsibilities at the level required. We examine their track record of delivering results, their problem-solving skills, and their ability to translate vision into execution. Operational fit ensures candidates can do the work, lead when necessary, and follow through consistently.

4. Behavioral Fit

We use the Talent Selfie assessment by iWorkZone to evaluate leadership style and team dynamics. This behavioral assessment helps us understand how candidates prefer to work, communicate, and lead. It highlights potential synergies, or areas of friction, with the current team and equips leadership to support success from day one.

Why This Approach Works

The beauty of this four-dimensional framework is that it creates a full picture of each candidate. Someone might excel in operational fit but struggle with cultural alignment, or have strong strategic insights but behavioral tendencies that clash with the team. By evaluating all four areas, we can make informed hiring decisions and set realistic, aligned expectations.

This approach has significantly improved retention rates and team satisfaction. When people fit across all four dimensions, they don’t just stay longer—they contribute more meaningfully and find greater fulfillment in their roles.

The key is being intentional about each dimension during the hiring process. Don’t just hope for good fit- design for it.