Should you be prioritising attitude over aptitude in the hiring process?

Research shows that employees that you hire for their attitude may be more successful in your organisation – here’s how and why to act on this information

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Business News Daily

According to Mark Murphy, chairman and CEO of Leadership IQ, focusing on skills over dedication or cultural fit can lead to poor hiring decisions for several reasons. “When most managers talk about hiring the ‘right people,’ they mean highly skilled people,” Mark says, “but, in my research, 46% of those hired failed within 18 months and, 89% of the time, it was for attitudinal reasons and not skills. 

“It’s not that skills aren’t important, but when the top predictor of a new hire’s success or failure is attitude, then attitude is clearly what we need to be hiring for.” 

This suggestion rings true across industries — even those that might not traditionally come to mind when you think of offices or teams. Hiring for attitude is about more than your current work quality and productivity; Marks asserts that attitude-driven appointments directly shape your work environment, going forward, in ways your entire team can feel.

“Ask every one of your high performers if they would rather be short-staffed or work with someone with a bad attitude,” he suggests. “Every time we do this, people always say ‘short-staffed.’”

How to spot a bad attitude in a potential employee

Mark cites a lack of emotional intelligence, an unwillingness to learn and a bad temperament as signs of a poor attitudinal fit. He also emphasises that the ‘right’ attitude looks different for every organisation. “Someone who is competitive and individualistic may be the perfect fit for a solo-hunter, commission-driven, sales force,” he says, “but put that same personality to work in a collaborative, fun-loving team culture, and that individualistic superstar is doomed to fail.”

How to find job candidates with the right attitude

Here are some tips for appointing job candidates with attitudes that fit your workplace:

Write down what you’re looking for

Maybe you have a general idea of the attitude you’re looking for — positive, friendly and upbeat. That’s a start, but these qualities might not be directly tied to your team’s tasks or workflows. Instead, come up with more detailed descriptions, such as ‘Is willing to pause what they’re doing to help a co-worker.’ You can often determine whether new people meet your criteria within their first few days on the job or, ideally, during the interview process.

Prioritise talent-sourcing, not just talent-recruitment

Talent-recruitment covers incoming job applications, interviews and background checks, while talent-sourcing involves finding candidates before they find you. This isn’t limited to contacting people currently looking for work; you can also reach out to people working elsewhere – who seem to have an attitude that fits – and ask whether they’d like to have a casual conversation. If that person is an attitude fit, and they express interest in your organisation, you can then schedule a formal interview.

Ask attitude-related interview questions

During job interviews ask candidates about hypothetical situations where their attitude could come into play. For example, asking, “How do you approach challenging tasks?” could reveal the candidate’s attitude towards teamwork, difficult assignments and professional development. Questions like these will help you get a sense of the candidate’s attitude before you hire them.

“When you ask high performers to tell you about a past experience they’re 40% more likely than low performers to answer using past-tense verbs. That’s because high performers actually have the experience to recount, and they’re not afraid to reveal their attitudes to you,” explains Mark.

Look at how job applicants treat people

Let’s say you’re looking for employees who don’t hesitate to reach out to other people. The right candidates might approach team members who aren’t involved in recruitment – such as front-office staff or potential future teammates – without hesitation. This fearlessness will extend beyond interactions with your hiring team — it’s real, it’s consistent and it’s a hireable quality.

Add shadowing to your hiring process

What if you could test out a potential employee before they officially join your team? Try shadowing, an arrangement where candidates spend a paid day on the job working alongside their possible future co-workers. 

On the candidate’s shadow day – for which you should pay the same rate you would a full employee – observe their demeanour and interactions. Do the phrases you’d use to describe their attitude and behaviour match what you see in your existing staff? If so, you’ve found a fit.

Don’t entirely neglect skills

Hiring for attitudinal fit shouldn’t mean appointing someone just because you like them. You should employ people who can contribute to a good work atmosphere and back their positive demeanour with enough skills to do satisfactory work. 

Remember that a person’s positive attitude can carry them through all manner of training and learning opportunities – before long, they’ll have enough skills to do truly top-notch work.