An introduction to holistic hiring

When you first consider hiring for a niche or business-critical role, the most obvious reference points are?skill set, education and industry background. This is understandable, as these factors are easily quantifiable and statistically bring you closer to the ideal candidate. Chances are if you focus on finding a candidate that matches your technical requirements, you will find someone that can do the job. However, hiring is not a box-checking exercise; whether people will perform well depends on more than qualification and experience. ?

At STOIX, we have taken a more holistic approach to avoid the typical recruitment pitfall of hiring the candidate with the best CV and overlooking other factors. To help you do the same, we interviewed David J Brammer , an experienced Global Head of Talent Acquisition and have gathered some of the key ingredients to a successful, holistic hiring strategy. ?

Measuring cultural fit?

Cultural fit is a great example of those intangible metrics that are very important for a successful hire but can't be determined based on the CV and technical interviews. David suggests using assessments to get a more complete picture of what the candidate has to offer.

"You can use tools like the Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ), which has always been a favourite of mine. Unfortunately, many companies use assessments as a barrier to entry, which I think is ill-advised. Instead, the results should be used to influence the questions you might ask at the next interview stage."

It's the combination of assessments and the candidate's responses to subsequent interview questions that will help you determine if they would be a good cultural fit.??

Know who you're looking for?

While there's no magic formula, successful hires are usually a result of thorough reflection and analysis of previous hires and current business needs.

"I think the key is understanding the business, and this is where Talent Acquisition business partnering as a phrase comes in," says David.

The issue with contingent recruitment is that it's operational. Recruiters from multiple agencies are given a brief and they are instructed to find someone with a good CV. A more precise (and ultimately more effective) approach is understanding a particular position's role within the wider company and having a clear idea of the kind of person who is best suited to take it on. David suggests asking questions to understand why you are looking to fill a particular role, the reasons why the last person left and whether you are recruiting at the right level. Without reflecting on the latest hire, you risk finding the same kind of person again, and the cycle might repeat itself. Taking the time to go through this process of reflection will significantly improve your chances of finding the right person for the role and retaining them.?

Hire to solve problems?

What issues are holding your business and teams back? Does the business have the capacity and the right people to solve them? If not, use this as a starting point. For example, you may already have six finance managers in your finance team, yet some areas of the finance function are still not covered. David suggests asking questions such as

"What is missing from the six people?you have on your team?"

Taking stock of the skill sets already existing in the company can help you identify the gaps in knowledge that need filling and will keep you more focused during the process.??

In short

While hiring is a complex process, there's a lot you can do to improve your chances of securing the right talent. We suggest taking a holistic view of hiring and talking to candidates that can help solve problems currently holding back the business and complement existing institutional knowledge. Top that with a consideration of the current business needs and a reflection of previous hiring outcomes and you're guaranteed to get ahead of the curve.

Written by Kata Virág

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