In my previous blog post for the Top Echelon Recruiter Training Blog, I discussed hiring blindness and how it contributes to poor candidate hires. In this post, I’ll be addressing the four main hiring styles, which are as follows:
#1—The Tackler
Tacklers are fast and decisive. They want to be in control and reach goals quickly. During interviews, they get to the point quickly and appreciate people who do the same. Tacklers tend to hire candidates they think will condense timelines and hit targets fast.
#2—The Teller
Tellers are talkers. They use their communication skills to motivate people. During interviews they talk a lot, often selling the candidate on the company and potential opportunities. Tellers tend to hire candidates they think will act upon what the Teller has said.
#3—The Tailor
Tailors are collaborators. They point out that there’s no “I” in “team.” During interviews they build a rapport and allow conversation to become an open exchange of thoughts and feelings. Tailors tend to hire candidates they think are capable of cultivating strong workplace relationships.
#4—The Tester
Testers are data-driven. They thrive on clarity. They make decisions based on tangible evidence. During interviews, they gather pertinent details and value facts over stories. Testers tend to hire candidates who offer quantitative evidence that they’re right for the job.
The good news is that none of these styles is bad. They’re all good, actually. They’re what make us who we are. The bad news is that when we rely too much on our dominant style, it distorts reality. Our subjective perception, imperfect to begin with, gets even worse. We create opinions and beliefs about candidates that may or may not be true.
This is hiring blindness in a nutshell. We don’t see the real person. We don’t see what an objective third party might see if they look at our ATS recruitment software. We see the person we set ourselves up to see. We see the person we want to see. Just like when we’re on first and second dates. We miss the red flags. We miss the gorillas walking by because we want the person to be the right fit.
This is how good dates become bad relationships, and how good interviews become bad hires. When you recognize the downstream effects of your hiring style you can limit its negative aspects and leverage strategies that counter hiring blindness.
Here’s an easy-to-follow, three-step approach, structured to mitigate the distortive impact of hiring styles and reduce hiring blindness:
- Determine your hiring style. Use the descriptions above to become familiar with the different Hiring Styles, then carefully watch for evidence of them during future interviews to identify your dominant style.
- Recognize your blind spots. Blind spots hamper effective interviewing. Tacklers see drive, Tellers see buy-in to the company mission, Tailors see potential collaborators, and Testers see details. All four styles tend to miss things the others see. These are critical blind spots that lead to bad hires.
- Incorporate seeing-eye colleagues. It’s important to stack your hiring team with people of all four styles. This will give you an expansive, three hundred-sixty degree view of a candidate. A diverse, complementary team rarely misses important cues. Someone will see that gorilla walking by while the others are watching the ball.
It’s true that dating and hiring are similar processes. There’s one important difference, though: companies don’t have time for an extended courtship when they have an important seat to fill.
As the speed of business increases, the precision and accuracy of the hiring process must keep pace. Companies implement recruiting software and have to create streamlined processes for identifying top talent quickly. If they don’t, the high divorce rate between bosses and employees will only increase.
As president of the Wintrip Consulting Group (WCG), Scott Wintrip has helped thousands of companies across the globe increase revenue, improve profitability, expand market share, boost employee retention and decrease labor intensity. He has consulted for, coached, and educated more than 40,000 professionals, creating more than $1.2 billion in positive economic impact for his clients. Click here to visit Wintrip’s website and learn more about his consulting services for recruiters.