Using Working Genius in hiring to improve decisions
Allar Teder
Most hiring mistakes are not about skills, but about fit. These are both important elements of making a good hiring decision. However, even when all the boxes are checked, companies still face situations where a new hire does not perform as expected or loses motivation over time.
Working Genius gives another perspective and helps to answer a question that is often overlooked: what kind of work actually gives this person energy and more importantly - what drained them? Understanding this can make the difference between a hire who thrives and one who simply manages.
Why traditional hiring can fall short
In many hiring processes, the focus is on what a candidate has done in the past. CVs highlight achievements, interviews assess competencies and references validate experience. While this gives a strong overview of capability, it does not always reveal how a person will feel doing the job every day.
Traditional hiring methods do not fully capture the type of work a person is naturally drawn to. A candidate may be capable of doing a job, but if the core tasks do not align with what energises them, motivation will decrease over time. Working Genius in hiring helps bridge this gap by focusing not only on capability, but also on energy and motivation.
What is Working Genius in hiring?
Working Genius is a framework that identifies the types of work that give people energy and the types that drain them. When applied to recruitment, Working Genius in hiring helps organisations understand how a candidate is likely to experience the role on a daily basis. Instead of focusing only on job titles, it highlights the actual activities behind the role. This includes how ideas are generated, how work is developed, and how tasks are executed and completed.
Aligning roles with energy
Working Genius helps break the work into clearer components, allowing companies to identify which activities are critical for success. This makes hiring decisions more intentional and aligned with business needs.
A common example in recruitment is a “project manager” role that seems clear at first glance, but in reality requires very different strengths. A company may hire someone with strong execution skills: great at planning, structuring, and driving tasks to completion. And later might realise the role actually demands generating new ideas and shaping initiatives from the ground up. This is where Working Genius adds clarity. By helping to define whether the role truly needs strengths in ideation, activation or execution, making it much more likely to find a person who will genuinely thrive in the role.
Improving candidate evaluation
Another advantage of Working Genius in hiring is how it improves candidate evaluation. It enables more meaningful interview conversations by focusing on what candidates enjoy doing and where they feel most effective. This often reveals differences that are not visible through experience alone. Two candidates with similar backgrounds may have very different preferences when it comes to daily work. Understanding this early helps avoid mismatches that might otherwise only appear after the hire.
The impact on performance and retention
When Working Genius in hiring is applied effectively, the impact can be seen across performance, ownership and retention. People perform better when the work feels natural and energising. They take more ownership and collaborate more effectively. Most importantly, they are more likely to stay in the role long term. Many employees leave not because they lack skills, but because the work does not feel fulfilling. Aligning roles with energy helps create a more sustainable working experience.
Making hiring decisions with more clarity
Hiring will always involve some uncertainty, but Working Genius in hiring helps reduce it. It adds a deeper layer of understanding by showing not just what a candidate can do, but how they are likely to feel doing it. This strengthens existing hiring methods by improving role clarity, candidate evaluation, and overall alignment.
A More thoughtful approach to hiring
As hiring becomes more strategic, companies are looking to make better decisions, not just faster ones. The cost of a wrong hire is too high to rely only on intuition. Working Genius in hiring offers a practical way to improve decision making by focusing on what energises people. It helps organisations move from simply filling roles to building teams where people can perform at their best.
If you want to test how Working Genius can support your recruitment strategy, you can learn more on our website.
