In a previous blog, I shared a hiring dilemma I faced when building my leadership team here at Hays. I had to decide whether to hire externally or promote internally.

But that wasn’t the only dilemma I faced. I also needed to build a cohesive, well-functioning unit in which the members complemented one another, not just in terms of capability, but also in personality fit. I wanted a team made up of people who recognise the value of working together for a bigger ambition, as opposed to just pursuing individual success.

Why personality matters when hiring

Often, the candidate with the longest list of accolades and the widest array of qualifications gets the job. This hiring approach does not consider how this individual might fit into a team. However, I believe that technical skills can be taught and mastered, whilst personality traits and character often cannot.

The big risk with focusing so heavily on someone’s achievements is that you often overlook their attitude. In a study of 20,000 new employees, nearly half (46%) had failed at their jobs within the first year and a half. Nearly 90% of the time, this was because of the wrong outlook, rather than a lack of skills.

In the ever-changing world of work, role descriptions are increasingly focused on strong soft skills, like communication, stakeholder management. Candidates can learn technical skills and even deploy AI and automation in some instances. But personality remains key for future leaders. It’s important to assess personality in the hiring process, to find approachable employees with the right attitude towards change.

The right personality fit is often the hardest thing to find in a new hire. I conducted my hiring process with this in mind.

How to assess personality in the hiring process

Whether recruiting one job candidate or a whole new team, it’s important to know the team dynamic. You might be hiring the best person for each specific role, but without team cohesion, there’s no guarantee you’ll build a cohesive team.

Take Real Madrid’s Galácticos and their barren decade from 2002-2012 as an example. Having the best individual players in the world was no precursor to their team's success and attainment of trophies.

With this in mind, here’s a checklist that I used when building my team:

1. Introspective reflection: what are your strengths and weaknesses?

As a hiring manager, you need to build your team around your vision and personality. If you’re going to drive this team towards success, then you need a group that complements your work style. To understand what your team requires, you first need to conduct a self-assessment. Make sure when you do that, you’re honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses and what you need to fill the gaps.

2. Team dynamic: what makes a good team?

Ask yourself what sort of team dynamic is conducive to success, bearing in mind your specific goals and ambitions. For example, your team operates in a highly pressured environment in a global marketplace. In this instance, patience and good communication skills would be top of the priority list for hiring decisions.

3. Social cohesiveness: will the new hire fit in well?

Social bonds are the key to your team’s success. This can be easily assessed during the interview process by watching out for:

• How much credit the candidate takes for team accomplishments.
• How much they resent their former employer and team.
• How frequently they use ‘me’ over ‘we’.
• Whether their future goals are individual or collective ones.

An interview should feel like a conversation rather than an interrogation. This is usually a good sign that you have a good rapport.

4. Candidate personality: is the new hire objectively compatible?

There are many personality assessment tools you can use to determine group compatibility. I used one called the ‘Predictive Index’.

First, I assessed the roles, profiles, and attributes of the preexisting team members. I then mapped each new candidate’s personality profile against the preexisting team. This was to ensure group success and team fit.

However, it’s important to use pre-employment personality tests wisely. Over-reliance on these tools can exclude talented candidates, such as applicants with neurodiversities, from the recruitment process.

Avoid over-reliance on restrictive personality tests, like the Myers Briggs type definition. These limited archetypes aren’t always accurate at predicting job performance. Finding a balance between different assessment styles will ensure you are able to assess personality in the hiring process. Combining each step on this checklist will also help you to create inclusivity and avoid bias.

Invite different colleagues to host interviews

When you assess personality in the hiring process, it doesn’t have to be as rigid as this checklist. However, I would encourage you to use different colleagues to interview different candidates. Invite colleagues who will be working with the new hire on a regular basis. Making sure that your existing team is involved in the hiring process is a quick win towards ensuring team cohesion.

Each interviewer should assess different facets of each candidate with different methods, such as psychometric testing. This level of unpredictability ensures that the interviewee cannot simply recite practiced answers to common questions. In turn, their real personality will be encouraged to shine through.

Be realistic and honest with each new potential hire. Be upfront about the candidate’s role and what you expect of them. If you're not, this could contribute to their falling out with the rest of the team.

It’s often not until after the qualified candidate joins your team that you know if they’re a good fit. This integration can even take up to a couple of months to figure out.

Therefore, it’s important that your interviews are as dynamic and varied as your team members. This way, your hiring process isn’t just an assessment of how capable the candidate is at fulfilling their role. It’s also an assessment of how well they’re going to thrive in the work environment.

Reaping the rewards of personality-driven recruitment

I can personally attest to why personality matters when hiring. The above method of team–cohesion–focused team building has been a successful strategy for me. My team is three months old, and we are getting stronger and closer every day.

Using the above process, I’ve successfully built a team based on trust and confidence. It’s great to see how they are confident enough with one another to express their honest opinions.

Their trust is also evident, knowing that other members’ focus and feedback are always with the greater good in mind. This is key. Constant and open feedback is an integral part of this dynamic.

The key takeaway for you here is to concentrate on recruiting candidates who don’t just have the right skills, but can also build and maintain social capital.

Discover more tips on improving your hiring process with Hays

• 9 ways to improve your diversity recruitment strategy
• How many interviews is too many for candidates?
• Five steps to better onboarding

Or get in touch to enhance your recruitment process.