Hiring for performance, not similarity
Modern search tools are tempting us to chase the unattainable and unsuitable. There are no perfect candidates, yet the default solution is often to look for someone who has done the closest version of the role, in an organisation that appears similar to ours. AI-led search tools can reinforce this approach by suggesting that such profiles are now easily accessible to everyone.
The reality is that similarity of title or employer is a poor proxy for performance, even if we could find those profiles. It tells us very little about how someone will operate under the specific pace, pressure and expectations of our own environment.
What should we be searching for instead?
A more reliable approach is to isolate five distinct areas and assess each of them against the realities of your organisation, not someone else’s:
- Skills: the foundational capabilities required to do the work
- Traits: the behavioural patterns that shape how those skills show up, particularly under pressure
- Competencies: how skills and traits combine in practice to deliver results in your environment
- Values: what a person will and will not compromise on when decisions are difficult
- Drivers: what motivates them to sustain effort and engagement over time
What this means in practice
A few observations follow from this.
First, if hiring managers do not have a shared understanding of organisational context including goals, structure, constraints, systems and culture, it is unrealistic to expect them to assess anything beyond skills.
Workforce planning therefore becomes a critical step, as it gives managers the language and clarity needed to assess performance rather than resemblance.
Second, four of these five areas are, by nature, informed judgments rather than certainties. A strong hiring process does not eliminate uncertainty, but it can significantly reduce risk and improve outcomes. Hiring will never be perfect, and no amount of AI will change that.
Finally, once we accept that there are no perfect candidates, it follows that even strong hires will have gaps. This naturally increases the importance of development and training. When approached deliberately, these gaps form the basis of meaningful development plans that strengthen the employee value proposition and improve retention from day one.
A simple framework
- Skills – what someone can do
- Traits – their default behaviour
- Competencies – how skills and traits will be applied in your organisation
- Values – accepted boundaries
- Drivers – what will retain and motivate them
We partner with businesses to design, build and scale high-performing finance teams, from transactional accounting through to CFO leadership. Contact us today for support building your team ↓
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