Hire With Your Head, 4th Edition

Introduction: Performance-based Hiring, Four Editions Later

As I was finishing this book, I asked Don Spear, CEO of OpenSesame – a hugely popular curated online course marketplace – why he decided to implement Performance-based Hiring in his company. His answer surprised me. He said, “It gives us a framework for ensuring that we're attracting high-quality candidates who meet our performance hiring standards while also reducing bias from our hiring teams. We believe diversifying our workforces makes our company better by bringing a variety of perspectives and voices to serve our customers.”

He went on to say that their company wanted to aggressively increase the diversity of the workforce and that the Performance-based Hiring interview guides and talent scorecard rubric were some of the tools used to achieve the goal. Using these tools, managers are now confidently able to assess ability, fit, and potential, ensuring that those hired meet the company's standards of excellence. Just as important was to send a clear message to those hired under this program that they met the company's rigorous selection standards and threshold of excellence. He said hiring outstanding people is essential in order for the company to meet its aggressive growth goals.

While the Performance-based Hiring tools described in this book will allow managers and companies to build outstanding diverse teams, it's up to the leaders of these companies to fully commit to doing it. This, it turns out, is often ...