Right Hiring for the Right Fit
Loading...values & standards
Hiring the right team members should link directly to your organization’s values. The right candidate inherently reflects the values lived by current employees, maintaining the alignment to organization’s values and vision. The first step to finding your fit is to create the perfect job description.
When writing this description, clarity is an important tool in finding cultural alignment. The candidate should understand exactly what is expected of them and what will best support the success of their potential team as well as the overall organization. You can find clarity by using your organizational values to guide the job description writing process.
Your standards solidify the impact of your values. Having the standards of your organization reflect its values establishes alignment. Be certain there are no gaps between your job description, your values and your standards. The leader should conduct the first interview round, followed by peer interviewing. Leaders will then hire based on the recommendation from the peer group. This dynamic allows your team to detect a values and standards fit by using behavior-based questions combined with a performance foundation. It also builds buy-in for the candidate and the organization, so everyone is acting on the company’s best interest.
Note: In addition to a peer interview step, some organizations prefer adding a skill test into the mix. This is highly dependent on the nature of the role and can be in the form of pre-work, such as a scenario-based question where they are asked to work through how they would approach creating or solving a problem in much more detail than expected in a face-to-face peer interview. If your team feels that the role requires more credibility, then this route is a highly conducive form of skill confirmation.
Lastly, once the peer interview leader has made the decision and submitted the Peer Interview Matrix (or alternative interview review document used by the team) to Human Resources (HR), the candidate will be contacted by HR to discuss the outcome of the interview and all supporting matters, such as compensation, benefits, and start dates. Additionally, if a candidate is selected, the leader may want to reach out to the candidate as a welcoming gesture.
The process typically flows as follows:
- Human Resources screening
- Skills assessments test (if desired)
- Executive Leader(s) interview
- Peer Interview
- Human Resources outcome conversation
interview guide
Craft a thorough job description.
Create a job description that is aligned to your organization’s values and standards. Use the job description template as a guide to help you get started.
Create behavior-based questions.
Develop behavior-based interview questions. Begin with performance criteria, while asking for examples of situations that provide information about the candidate’s attitudes and personality. Use your job description to write 3 interview questions. Example: Tell us about a time when you worked on a team and experienced success. What was the situation? What made it successful?
Apply the peer interview.
Plan to develop the peer interview into your process.
