Hire for Behaviours not Skills

Kerry White, Co-Founder and Director at RedGreen Partners discusses Wild Cards and not just hiring for capability or skills.

“On paper this candidate doesn’t match the brief… but their behaviours and attitude will make a real impact across the business.”

That was feedback from a client recently when they interviewed my “Wild Card” candidate for a specialist role.  They were a “generalist” HR professional who had worked on specialist projects, but I knew they had what it takes to be a success in the role I was hiring for.

For anyone who’s Partnered with me, they’ll know I’ve always believed in adding a couple of wild cards to my shortlists. Candidates who bring energy, curiosity, and the right cultural fit, even if they're not a perfect match on paper.

And we need more of this mindset when recruiting, particularly in HR.

BUT WHY?

Because it’s not just about capability, it’s about behaviour, culture and how someone shows up in a team and business.

For years, hiring, but more importantly interviewing, seems to have been centred around one core idea:

Find someone with the right skills and the right experience, and the rest will follow.

To a point that’s understandable. It feels measurable, safe even and easy to justify internally.

But time and time again RedGreen Partners’ hears of this approach increasingly missing the mark and the conversations of “we just can’t find someone who ticks all the boxes” is becoming more frequent.

2026 is now in full swing and despite a perceived high candidate application volume, many organisations are still struggling to find The One.   Is that because the best hire isn’t always the one with the most experience on paper or the one who does the best in competency-based interviews?  Surely it should be the one who will thrive in your environment. 

SO WHAT CAN WE CHANGE?

How about ensuring the hiring process has behaviours, culture and attitude as it’s prioritisation?

I’m not saying ignore assessing for skills, I mean, you need to make sure you’re not hiring a Buildings Renovator for the US President's role!  But look at the wider picture of what is needed in the individual, the team, the organisation.  And not just for now but for the future.  After all, we want our employees to stay and grow.

When identifying what is needed in the role and team, ensure required attitudes, values and behaviours are defined and pursued all the way through the hiring process.   

AI

We all know that AI is here to stay and absolutely it has its place when recruiting.  And not just for CV sifting but for video interviews and analysing psychometric and in-basket exercises.    

There are even AI tools which say they can analyse candidate responses, tone, and facial expressions in real-time and against pre-defined company values. 

If a business hasn't adopted AI in any way into their hiring process, it could be off putting to a certain candidate demographic and raise concerns.  But then again, if AI is making the final decisions in your interview process, what does that say about decision making in your business?  It's a fine line. 

Interview Process

Now I’m not going to harp on about how you assess for behaviours, culture and attitude as you already know how to do that.  But let’s remind ourselves as to why assessing for behaviours is essential. 

Skills tell you what they can do. Behaviours show you what they will do.

• In a behaviour focused interview, you don’t just ask “Have you done X?”, you're focussed.  Dig into “How did you approach it? What drove your decisions? What did you do when things went wrong?”.

Anyone can rehearse a skills answer. Behaviour and culture fit reveals itself under pressure.

• Skills interviews invite polished, textbook responses.

• Behavioural interviews ask candidates to walk you through real conflict; real change; real mistakes.  

• In these answers you can instantly see their judgement, ownership and emotional intelligence.  Not the rehearsed answer.

Behavioural led interviews can prevent the biggest hiring mistake: the wrong attitude and culture fit.

• Most failed hires aren’t skill gaps, they’re behaviour gaps.

• A behaviour and values focused interview can uncover work ethic, humility, resilience and alignment with your culture, long before onboarding does.

When you interview for behaviour, you see potential not just career history.

• A CV shows what someone has done.

• When exploring behaviours, you can discover how they think, adapt and influence the traits that drive long term performance, not just short term technical delivery.  How they’ll fit in with your current and future culture and values. 

Interviewing for behaviour and culture uncovers the how, not just the what.

• Two candidates may have the same skillset.

• Only behavioural interviewing shows you which one may listen better, collaborate better, decide better, learn quicker and handle pressure.

TRUST, TRANSPARENCY, AUTHENTICITY

Three words and values which RedGreen Partners strive to adhere to and promote. Which to me, when successfully recruiting in 2026 and beyond, need to be a constant for organisations too. 

Candidates want to feel seen, not processed.  If a ‘Bot is the first “person” they speak to, what is this saying about the culture of the business and how they’ll be heard when they join?

Candidates are looking for a recruitment experience that feels genuinely human and personal rather than manufactured.  Let them know what the process is going to entail, what’s important in the role.  Offer realistic timelines and always provide feedback.

Business success is hinged so much on hiring the right talent to advance performance and encourage retention, so it needs to be treated with the level of importance it deserves.  You’re looking to hire THE BEST person.  Someone who can help the business succeed.   Which I believe can be done by aligning that individual with your organisations’ current and future culture, behaviours and values. 

And finally…… It’s also about who you Partner with to recruit.  Whether that’s in your wider team, where you advertise or working with Recruiters such as RedGreen Partners.  Make sure they have the right behaviours and attitude and you trust them to hire the perfect candidate into your business.

To have a confidential chat with Kerry White, Director at RedGreen Partners, please email kerry.white@redgreenpartners.co.uk or call 07831464981