Most organizations hire people based on a job title and description they believe is exactly what they need.
Throughout this process they interview dozens of people who may meet the requirements but may not be a good fit for the organization.
This is because the single most important thing to hire someone for is their values.
Hiring based on values first
An example of this is compare to compare two potential developer hires:
- Developer A — 10 years of experience, values doing things their way, unwilling to change methodologies
- Developer B — 2 years of experience, values learning, open minded to new ways to deliver results
On paper Developer A may seem like the obvious choice due to their history but from my experience Developer B will provide a much greater impact for the team because of their values.
Being continuously willing to learn, fail, and grow will resonate throughout the organization and result in the team having a stronger set of shared values.
This is just one example that applies primarily to early stage start ups but the concept works based on your organizations values.
Define your team values
If your entire team is rallied around scrum methodology, don’t hire someone who is really excited about another methodology and will not be inspired to adapt.
In order to effectively hire based on values, it is critical for your team to define their values.
Each team is unique and hiring one new person creates a new team. If you find yourself hiring people who seem great at first but end up creating friction, ask yourself honestly if they are a good fit for your team’s values.
Interested in trying an innovative approach to software development?
Connect with Mitch at Meteor Labs to get software results that your customers will love — always on time and budget.
