The "Win-Win" Performance-based Hiring Articles, Insights and Podcasts

Hiring Trends 2023 Based on Behavioral Science

Hiring Trends 2023 Based on Behavioral Science

I’ve just wrapped up recording a new course for LinkedIn Learning (available in Q2, 2023). The core theme of this new program is that by embedding post-hire success into the pre-hire sourcing and interviewing process it’s possible to attract and hire a different type of candidate. These are people who are more diverse, who have less traditional backgrounds, who are more focused on learning and development and who are more interested in long-term vs. gig employment. Achieving this goal requires a different process at every step from how jobs are defined to how candidates are onboarded and managed.

Should I Stay or Should I Go

Should I Stay or Should I Go

The other day someone asked me if she should quit her job. I handed her the graphic shown above and told her to rank the six factors on a 1-5 scale from terrible to outstanding.

Leadership Lessons from the 1970s

Leadership Lessons from the 1970s

I was a guest on Simon Fagg’s excellent After Dinner Leadership podcast last week. Simon brings an oldie with a newbie to discuss how business ideas of the past might still be useful today. Simon’s first question to me was to highlight some early leadership lessons that I felt were still relevant. Here’s what I came up with from the early 1970s.

The NEW Most Important Interview Question of All Time

The NEW Most Important Interview Question of All Time

You might recall that this was formerly known as the most important interview question of all time.

This 1 Metric Determines the Health of Your Entire Hiring Program

This 1 Metric Determines the Health of Your Entire Hiring Program

As an old manufacturing guy it’s pretty obvious that when a machine is producing scrap you stop the machine and fix the problem before turning it back on.

Soft Skills are Too Important to Be Called Soft

Soft Skills are Too Important to Be Called Soft

The Hiring Formula for Success shown in the image above defines all of the factors that best predict on-the-job success. Soft skills top the list.

The Best Interview Technique of All Time

The Best Interview Technique of All Time

I think too many people including those in HR, OD experts, hiring managers and recruiters, believe being a good interviewer requires some remarkable insight into human behavior. I think they’re mistaken. There is an alternate path: being a good detective.

The 10 Best Predictors of Success that AI Can’t Find

The 10 Best Predictors of Success that AI Can’t Find

Having tracked the performance of thousands of senior professional staff and managers over the past 50 years it turns out it’s not hard to predict who will be successful. All you need to do is ask candidates to describe their major accomplishments most comparable to the key performance objectives (KPOs) of the open job. As long as you dig deep enough the factors shown below will pop out. Consistency is what matters, though, not one-time occurrences. This preview of the Sherlock Holmes deductive interview describes the probing needed to gather this information.

Everyone Can Be in the Top 25%

Everyone Can Be in the Top 25%

It turns out hiring people who will be in the top half is pretty easy. You just have to stop making hiring mistakes.

The Only Two Questions You Need to Ask to Assess Ability AND Potential

The Only Two Questions You Need to Ask to Assess Ability AND Potential

The other day a candidate asked me how to figure out if he was qualified for a new role given 15 years of experience with the same company.

Back to Hiring Basics: Benchmark How and Why the Top 25% Change Jobs

Back to Hiring Basics: Benchmark How and Why the Top 25% Change Jobs

It turns out that anyone can be in the top 25% with the right job, the right company, and the right hiring manager. But this is a rare event despite having spent $400-500 billion in job postings and HR tech in the past 25 years in the hope of matching the perfect job with the perfect candidate.

Filling Generic Jobs with Generic People is a Recipe for Disappointment

Filling Generic Jobs with Generic People is a Recipe for Disappointment

It turns out that hiring outstanding talent on a consistent basis has little to do with your ATS, which job boards you use or the quality of your competency model. The process shown in the image below (PDF version) will give you consistent great results as long as you do these four things first:

“Tell me about yourself” and other PBI interviewing tips

“Tell me about yourself” and other PBI interviewing tips

The traditional interview process has been shown to be unreliable in predicting job performance, often due to bias, lack of training and a focus on surface-level characteristics. The Performance-based Interview (PBI) is a natural language approach that seeks to assess an individual’s competency, fit and motivation by asking them to describe their past performance in specific situations. Studies have shown that the PBI is a more accurate predictor of job performance than other interview methods, making it a valuable tool for organizations seeking to hire the best candidates. Moreover, the PBI can be used to assess candidates at all levels of experience, making it an ideal method for career development and succession planning.

Without an EVP a Job Is Just a Job

Without an EVP a Job Is Just a Job

If you want to hire a great person, you need to offer a great job, not a laundry-list of skills, experiences and competencies that at best is no more than an ill-defined lateral transfer surrounded by some generic boilerplate. This is even more important today with candidates leaving within 90 days after starting if the new job turns out to be more promise than substance (Fortune, May 2022).

Do This First Before Ever Asking About Goals

Do This First Before Ever Asking About Goals

The worst question about career goals is something like, “What’s your major career goal for the next five years?”

How to Avoid the Staggering Cost of Turnover

How to Avoid the Staggering Cost of Turnover

While it’s hard to believe that a single hiring mistake could cost a company $400 thousand, it’s not so hard to believe when looking at this table showing the incremental profit contribution of employees at these well-known companies. The idea behind this table is that it shows the full financial and business impact a person has on a company, rather than just considering the person’s compensation package.

The ROI of Most Job Postings is Below Zero!

The ROI of Most Job Postings is Below Zero!

Few companies calculate the ROI of the effectiveness of their different sourcing channels but those that do discover referrals are the best with job boards generating more mistakes. And the cost of these mistakes is staggering wiping away the benefits of lower cost and speedier hiring.

The Illusion of Pay Parity and the Glass Ceiling

The Illusion of Pay Parity and the Glass Ceiling

The primary purpose of this post is to argue that compensation shouldn’t be the primary measure of pay equity. The secondary purpose is..

Leverage Your LinkedIn Network to Hire More Leaders

Leverage Your LinkedIn Network to Hire More Leaders

Leverage: Getting more output with less input.

Leaders are force multipliers who get more done with and through people using some type of magical leverage.

Hiring Leaders Requires New Thinking

Hiring Leaders Requires New Thinking

As you’ve discovered if you’d tried to hire any senior level person, the process for hiring leaders for these critical spots is much different than hiring everyone else for this one simple reason:

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