Why do hiring decisions go wrong?
Hiring is one of the most critical decisions a business can make.
However, it’s easy to get wrong and often costly to fix.
Typically, we focus on what’s easiest to see and measure: qualifications, past experience, and a polished CV.
But are these truly the best indicators of success?
Common Reasons for Poor Hiring Decisions
According to research, hiring mistakes often happen due to several common pitfalls:
Over emphasis on qualifications
Academic success doesn’t always translate to workplace effectiveness.
Ignoring team or cultural fit
Even the most qualified candidate may underperform if they don’t gel with your existing team.
Rushing the process
Time pressures can lead to recruitment shortcuts, resulting in hasty decisions.
Inadequate interview techniques
Unstructured or informal interviews can be less reliable than structured, competency-based ones.
Unclear job descriptions
Without clarity on the job’s true requirements, how can you attract and select the right candidate?
To explain, at Belbin Scotland we believe there’s a better way to recruit.
One which balances candidate eligibility (can they do the job?) with their suitability to the role (how will they approach it?).
It places importance not just on skills, but also equally on behaviour.
A Better Way to Recruit
Belbin Team Roles: A Behavioural Blueprint
Belbin Team Roles, developed by Dr Meredith Belbin, is a research-based model that identifies nine distinct clusters of behaviour.
Each person has a unique combination of preferred roles. Therefore, understanding these preferences helps teams play to their strengths, manage weaknesses, and improve communication.
Belbin Reports reveal which roles are present or missing within a team, enabling leaders to recruit with the right balance in mind.
The result?
A team that’s more resilient, better balanced, and equipped to tackle challenges head-on.
Suitability vs Eligibility: Looking Beyond the CV
When assessing candidates, consider two key elements:
Eligibility: their qualifications and experience
Suitability: their behaviour, motivation, and natural contribution to a team
This is precisely where Belbin excels.
Belbin Reports offer objective behavioural insight into how someone is likely to operate. Not just in the role, but within the team dynamic.
- Are they a strategic planner?
- A creative spark?
- Do they bring meticulous attention to detail?
Moreover, what does the role and your team really need?
Improving the Recruitment Process with Belbin
To enhance your recruitment process and make more informed hiring decisions, consider the following steps:
Define what the role really needs
Before advertising, clarify the key skills and behaviours required.
Collaborating early with the hiring manager and HR / Recruitment ensures alignment and uncovers any differing perspectives.
Create a Job Profile using Belbin
Alongside the job description, the Belbin Job Profile helps capture collective thinking around the ideal behavioural style for the role.
This offers a more rounded, objective perspective.
Far better than specifying on vague or generic traits: We need a “team player”.
You can also use the report to refine your job advert, ensuring it reflects the behavioural qualities you actually need.
Assess Candidate Behaviour in Context
Invite shortlisted candidates to complete the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory. This generates their personal Team Role profile.
Next, use the Belbin Job Comparison Report to directly match this against your ideal behavioural blueprint.
Ask smarter interview questions
Use insights from the Belbin Report to develop behavioural interview questions that provide supporting evidence.
For example:
“How do you stay focused on business development targets?” (Shaper)
“Talk me through your approach to building new relationships.” (Resource Investigator)
“How do you ensure high standards are maintained across your team?” (Completer Finisher)
These questions help you get more meaningful, evidence based answers.
Making Better Hiring Decisions with Belbin
In short, Belbin helps you make decisions that are driven by data, not just instinct or gut feel.
It also gives your Hiring Manager or Recruitment Panel a shared language for discussing behaviour.
This can help to reduce unconscious bias by increasing objectivity.
Top Tips for Using Belbin in Recruitment
Avoid hiring ‘more of the same’
Use Belbin to identify behavioural gaps or overlaps in your current team and recruit accordingly.
Cultural fit ≠ role fit
Explore how candidates complement your team dynamics.
Focus just as much on how they align with the role as you do on assessing their skills.
Guard against unconscious bias
Design interview questions that assess actual behaviours, not just how well someone performs in an interview.
Hire for behaviour. Train for skill.
Few candidates are the finished article.
Belbin can help identify strengths and development areas, making it easier to support growth, development and retention.
Tried. Tested. Trusted.
“We’ve used Belbin assessments to support Job Profile development. It helps us agree on the attributes we’re looking for—before speaking to candidates.
Belbin helped us be more specific in advertising and gave us greater confidence during recruitment.
Would highly recommend.”
Leona McDermid, CEO, Aberdeen Foyer
Build Better Teams with Belbin
To sum up:
Belbin Reports aren’t just for team building.
They are also a powerful recruitment asset.
Want to find out how Belbin could support your next hire?
Contact us today.
