5.0 out of 5 stars A radical rethink of the hiring process

J.G. · November 24, 2011

Virtually every one of the standard approaches to selecting the right people for an organization to excel is dead wrong, according to Mark Murphy in this book. Most executives try to hire the most technically competent people, whereas the vast majority of the roughly half of all new hires who fail within 18 months fail for reasons of attitude, not for lack of skill.The book goes on to provide a range of useful advice on hiring people. An important first step is identifying the unique factors of your organization's culture that determine whether or not a prospective employee is a good cultural fit, and what attitudes a prospective employee needs to possess in order to succeed within that culture. Most people find it very difficult to define such cultural issues, but the author provides a relatively simple way to do so.Other advice given in the book includes:* Why standard interview questions do not assess attitude* How to create interview questions that will reveal whether someone's attitude is right for you* How to create a set of answer guidelines allowing you to grade a candidate's attitude* Why most job advertisements are poorly worded, and how you can do better* The most effective ways of recruiting people who will perform well within the context of your organizational cultureMost people who have experience in recruiting new staff find the process a bit of a lottery; it seems impossible to tell in advance whether a candidate is going to turn into a high performer, and hiring decisions are often based on gut feelings that turn out to be sadly misplaced. After reading this book I am not sure whether the author has provided the complete solution, but I do find his recommendations compelling, and I fully intend to try them out next time I am involved in recruiting.In my opinion this is an excellent book, with provocative and valuable content in every chapter. If the author is right, then the recruiting practices of the vast majority of businesses are seriously in need of an overhaul. I highly recommend the book to executives, HR professionals and anyone who has responsibility for hiring staff.

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking Fun & Easy Read

R. · March 23, 2012

We purchased several copies of this book for use in a work-based book study group. We broke it down by chapters and discussed 1 chapter a week for 7 weeks, with a different manager giving a synopsis & leading the discussion each week in our Management Team meetings.I personally found it to be a quick & entertaining read on what can be a dull but extremely important topic: hiring the BEST people, not just the most qualified people. Mark Murphy's research shows that failure due to poor skills is often the least important reason why folks fail out at work. In his opinion (and mine as well) Attitude is Everything. Talented Terrors often rule the roost to the detriment of those around them, and Bless Their Hearts really try but just succeed in creating more work for those with better skills.The lessons are fairly easy to follow and we systematically created our own set of Brown Shorts characteristics (total of 4 critical traits), crafted questions for those characteristics (at least 2 questions per characteristic)and are in the process of implementing them as we push off on a hiring spree. I was the first in the group to use them when screening for a new member of my team (to replace someone who CLEARLY did not have the Brown Shorts attitude we were needing!). We did NOT use them when screening/hiring the outgoing person, and wish we knew then what we know now! The first candidates to whom we posed our questions were somewhat taken aback ("Wow...these are really interesting questions" and "Hmmmm - I have never been asked that before" were comments from some very seasoned candidates) and it was actually fun to listen to their answers. Very enlightening, to say the least. Our identified candidate starts tomorrow so we will see how those Brown Shorts traits show up on the job (I will try to update the review at a later date....).The only challenge to crafting your own system is in creating the Answer Key (as other reviewers have mentioned). We do not have the luxury of being able to interview hundreds of candidates, record their answers, and study/categorize the results as Murphy's team does. We also opted not to do an in-house survey of current employees. However, as we implment and hire based on the clear criteria we have set down, we will no doubt be able to craft our Answer Key over time and with experience. We are creating our own in-house training program to help other hiring managers and interested parties (who were not part of the original book group) implement the Hiring for Attitude / Brown Shorts process with each and every candidate we see for every position. We are all looking forward to reaping the benefits.I would highly recommend this book to all organizations, large and small, as the theory behind the book can be applied in any workplace situation.UPDATE: April 29, 2013We have now been utilizing the Hiring for Attitude way of interviewing for 1 full year at our office. I can honestly say that without exception, all of the candidates that we have hired since we implemented "Hiring for Attitude" have been exemplary. We have used our developed "brown shorts" questions to quickly weed out those who would not bring to the table the attitude we are seeking. It has been an amazing experience to see the process and results put into action. This has been a successful enough program that our leadership has shared with other leaders throughout the Region, many of whom are also implementing hiring for attitude.UPDATE: June 24, 2014I am thrilled to report that the process is STILL WORKING for us more than 2 years after implementation. The folks that we "Brown Shorts" interview and who pass have become some of our more valuable, creative, and energetic staff members, and we have now created a great base of emerging leaders because of the process. I will say that my own experience with using this method has been incredibly revealing when someone fails to answer the questions we pose based on Hiring for Attitude. Believe me - there have been cases where, in the past, we would have hired a person based on their resume skills. However, we understand now that failing to utilize this process in our organization will lead to failed hires. It's just that simple. It is my opinion that those who are looking for a quick fix just by getting ideas from the book without actually going through the process will not be as successful as we have been. However - if you take the time to develop your traits and questions, then take the time to fully embrace and implement the hiring system (it IS time consuming) then you will experience the benefits.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, sensible tips to improve your hiring process.

S. · March 21, 2012

I am with an executive search firm and we frequently discuss the importance of securing candidates whose attitudes match our client organizations' cultures. Only with a true match of attitude and culture will our candidates thrive in their new roles.An easy read, this book has very applicable, sensible tips on how to develop a program that supports hiring only high performers. There are no attitude / personality tests to purchase and analyze - it just explains simple initiatives to take to determine the difference between your high performers and your low performers which then develops into what your corporate culture really is. From there, the book guides you in effectively structuring interview questions, measuring candidate answers and ultimately, attracting them to your firm.The main goal for any company is to create a competitive advantage - and really the only way to do that is to have superior talent. This book can show you what your ideal talent "looks" like and and how to secure it.I recommend this book for hiring managers as well as for executive recruiters.

Very interesting

D.C. · August 13, 2017

Very interesting book. A great help in order to hire better, and hire better people! I highly recommend this book

More impactful than most hiring books I have read.

O.A. · August 10, 2023

I like the fact that there are reasonable action steps to take to help we improve my hiring skills 😉.

Behavioral interviewing with a twist

D. · January 2, 2018

Quite useful although not as innovative as it wants to be. Brings somw specific tips for behavioral interviewing and defining the organisation's key competencies.And of course, as any of these self promoting management books, it could be summarized in 20 pages without loosing much content.

Inspiring and actionable insights

H.A.C. · January 20, 2013

This book puts an actionable methodology around an important but often neglected topic when it comes to hiring: namely, that it's usually someone's attitude rather than their technical proficiency that determines their success.A useful feature of the book is that it covers a lot more than just hiring: the importance of defining what makes your company culture unique (& how that should only appeal to a subset of high performers, those that are suitable for your company); and how embedded a focus on culture throughout the organisation will also improve performance (and happiness) of existing employees too.A great read for anyone involved in managing or growing a business.

Attitude matters

J.P. · February 23, 2018

This book is providing very good insight on hiring model, by adopting this model companies would be able to reduce employee churn and might get rid of the PIGEX model.