Hiring for Culture CEO Insights 05-7-2026 By Jim Steinlage President & Chief Executive Officer Hiring for culture and values at Choice Solutions is a highly engaged process. Our selection process focuses on identifying candidates whose personal values, behaviors, and attitudes align with our organization’s core beliefs and workplace environment. This evaluation begins with the initial HR interview and continues through interactive conversations with our leadership team. Will they align with our Core Values of Vision, Greatness, Family, Serving, and a Farmer’s Mentality? Rather than focusing solely on technical qualifications or experience, we prioritize whether a candidate will strive to work, collaborate, and enhance our shared values. Our mission is not only to deliver technical solutions but also to build trust with team members, clients, and partners by establishing long-term relationships. Our family-like culture and strong values are part of the formula that ensures friendly relationships, service excellence, teamwork, and organizational integrity always doing the right thing. At Choice Solutions, hiring for culture and values begins with identifying traits that reflect our priorities, such as accountability, adaptability, collaboration, teamwork, integrity, a strong work ethic, and a passion for continuous learning. Candidates are evaluated on communication, problem-solving skills, and how they respond to real-world challenges, especially when it comes to doing the right thing. Demonstrating ownership of their work, initiative in resolving issues, trust, teamwork, and strong communication skills with both teammates and clients are all traits that align well with our values. The extensive interview process helps ensure that new hires will not only meet job expectations but also actively contribute to a positive and productive workplace culture that supports internal teams, external customers, partners, and the community. It is also important to recognize the difference between “culture fit” and “culture add.” While culture fit may be easier to identify and align with existing values, culture add emphasizes bringing in individuals who expand perspectives, introduce new ideas, and strengthen the organization in meaningful ways. At Choice Solutions, maintaining this balance encourages innovation and helps avoid the risk of creating a stagnant workforce while preserving our company’s core identity. Embracing different viewpoints fosters adaptability, continuous improvement, and forward-thinking qualities are essential in a fast-evolving technology industry. In summary, hiring based on values at Choice Solutions contributes to our long-term success by increasing team members’ commitment, improving retention, strengthening collaboration, and enhancing customer satisfaction all within a family-like atmosphere. When individuals feel they are part of the organization’s mission and are rewarded both financially and personally, they develop a sense of pride, motivation, and commitment to delivering timely, high-quality results. This strengthens client relationships, as organizations prefer to work with stable, friendly, and talented teams that consistently reflect strong values. By conducting interviews where more than technical skills are evaluated, we strive to create a team that not only excels technically but also embodies the principles that define our success.