Recruit for Values First – The Secret to Hiring That Actually Works

When a great CV isn’t enough

You’ve probably been there.

A new hire ticks all the boxes.

Experienced. Qualified. The interview went well.

And yet… within weeks, something’s off.

Tension. Friction. That subtle “this doesn’t feel right” gut instinct.

It’s not because they’re bad at the job.

It’s because they don’t fit the culture.

A tale of two teams

Right now, I’m supporting two practices with exactly this problem.

Both teams hired in a hurry — for understandable reasons.

They needed someone in place. Fast.

But neither considered values during recruitment.

And now?

One is dealing with passive resistance: the new team member is polite but quietly undermines the manager’s decisions.

The other is struggling with an employee who does the tasks, but won’t contribute to the wider team culture.

They’re both now facing the slow, costly work of trying to fix something that didn’t need to break in the first place.

This isn’t rare. It’s normal.

At recent Practice Plan workshops I ran on recruitment and retention, this theme came up again and again.

“We needed someone quickly — and we’re still dealing with it six months later.”

The story’s familiar because the pressure is real.

I remember recruiting for qualified staff in Tanzania — where there were zero qualified dental nurses and only 400 dentists in a population of 60 million.

Sometimes, you just need someone.

But when you skip values, you often pay for it later.

Why values matter more than skills

Research consistently shows that the strongest, most resilient teams aren’t just skilled — they’re aligned.

As Simon Sinek says:

“You don’t hire for skills. You hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.”

And Gary Vaynerchuk?

“Hungry and humble beats brilliant and toxic, every time.”

When you hire for values:

• Onboarding is smoother

• Trust builds faster

• Communication improves

• People stay longer

• Because people feel like they belong.

How to do it

1. Clarify your values — properly

   Not just words on the wall. What do they look like in action?

2. Build values into your recruitment process

   Write interview questions that test real-life scenarios — not just stock answers.

3. Use your values as decision filters

   If someone’s a great candidate but doesn’t live the values, pause. It might not be right.

No judgement here. I’ve felt that hiring pressure too.

But if your team’s struggled recently — if the “vibe” just isn’t right — start here.

Recruit for values. Then train for skills.

If you want to build a process that helps you hire right — book a free discovery call today.

Let’s take the pressure off and get your next hire right.