hiring managers, i’d like to posit a theory.
we can improve hiring efficacy by increasing our willingness to fire.
why?
there is no such thing as perfect signal.
hiring is maximizing high performers.
to do so, we look to capture as much as possible above the x-axis by relaxing stringency on signal. this inevitably expands both the false positives and false negatives.
said another way, if you are too scared of the false positives (i.e. making a bad hire) you will miss out on the false negatives (e.g. a stellar employee who interviews poorly).
trust your ability (or learn how) to course correct quickly and hire optimistically.
Originally posted on LinkedIn.