The idea of "cultural fit" is difficult to pin down, and if you use it as one of your criteria when assessing candidates, you should make sure you've defined exactly what you mean by the term. Cultural fit is often used as an excuse to dismiss candidates who come from different cultural backgrounds than the majority of employees at a company, but that's not what it's intended to measure. Rather than "culture" meaning social background, cultural fit refers to the ability of a candidate to work to his or her full potential in the particular setting of your company.
Of course, in order to assess the cultural fit of a candidate, you first have to be able to describe your own company's culture. Corporate culture is loosely defined as the set of beliefs, values, attitudes and assumptions that the people who make up your company all share. For example, is it considered acceptable to take a long lunch at your office or are breaks strictly timed? Do most internal emails begin with formal salutations or do colleagues communicate in short bursts that are more like text messages? What is the executive experience like?
Once you've pinned down your own idea of your company's culture, you can evaluate how well your current candidates would be able to adjust to it. Cultural fit is especially important when hiring an executive because, as human resources expert Susan M. Heathfield writes, "Culture is especially influenced by the organization's founder, executives, and other managerial staff because of their role in decision making and strategic direction."
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