Why Use BARS for Employee Selection

When I worked at Amazon in the early 2000s, we had a program called Bar Raisers. Bar Raisers were experienced employees acting as third-party advisers during the hiring process. They sat in on final interview rounds for potential candidates wanting to join outside their own team. Bar Raisers were selected based on their previously proven track record of predicting future employees’ success; if they scored a candidate highly, that candidate would usually go on to receive high scores on performance evaluations as an employee. Why did this work so well, and what can you “steal” from Bar Raisers for your organization? 1/ Bar Raisers prompted objectivity. When you’re hiring for a role on your team, sometimes being overwhelmed by your current workload can impact sound decision-making, and you hire a mediocre candidate out of desperation rather than waiting for a stellar one. Bar Raisers help reduce these mistakes and ensure more objective hiring standards across the board. 2/ Bar Raisers have veto power. If a Bar Raiser had a feeling a candidate was not a complete culture or skill fit for the company, they had final veto power. This continued to ensure Amazon’s high talent standards. 3/ Company-wide consistency Without a rigorous process hiring managers from different departments may have different hiring standards. The presence of a third-party bar raiser ensures that individual preferences or styles don’t interfere with the organization's goal of having a unified culture. 4/ Continuous Improvement Bar Raisers aren’t present just to provide feedback on the candidate. They also provided feedback on the effectiveness of the interview process. This allows everyone to continually refine their hiring process. #leadership #scale #culture #growth #hiring

Most companies don’t have a hiring problem. They have a 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 ⚠️ When growth pressure rises, hiring becomes reactive ⏱️ • roles are rushed • assessments are diluted • interviews rely on gut feel • references are skipped • checkpoints are removed “for speed” 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 🧱 High-performing organisations treat hiring as 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, not a transaction. They learn one truth early 👇 Every weak hire compound cost across teams, time, and trust 📉 𝟭) 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 🎯 Most mis-hires don’t come from bad candidates. They come from ambiguous roles. One firm hired “strong generalists” quickly. Six months later, performance reviews were inconsistent, expectations varied, and feedback felt subjective. They didn’t change people. They rewrote roles ✍️ Clear outcomes. 90-day success metrics. Attrition dropped. Performance variance narrowed. If the role isn’t clear, assessment is guesswork. 𝟮) 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀 🛡️ Gut feel feels fast. It’s also biased. Without structured assessment: • confidence gets mistaken for competence • familiarity beats capability • eloquence hides execution gaps One firm discovered its best interviewees weren’t its best performers. They added work simulations and role-specific problem solving. Hiring slowed slightly. Assessments don’t slow hiring. They prevent regret. 𝟯) 𝗧𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 🔄 Leaders fear high bars limit hiring. Opposite is true. A scaling B2B firm raised its bar: • fewer “maybe” hires • Clear yes/no decisions Result: Calmer management 😌 • fewer escalations • less micromanagement • higher trust Tight standards upstream reduce supervision downstream. 𝟰) 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 🚦 Checkpoints aren’t bureaucracy. They’re commitment devices. One firm adopted a simple rule: “No offer without a dissenting voice addressed.” Decision quality improved. Post-hire surprises reduced. Good checkpoints don’t delay decisions. They improve conviction. 𝟱) 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 🧬 Mature organisations treat checks as: • integrity validation • pattern confirmation • risk containment After senior mis-hires, a logistics firm reframed checks like this, • How does this person behave under pressure? • What pattern do they leave behind? • Where do they break trust? Culture stabilised. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 📈 When hiring quality matures: • onboarding shortens • peer trust increases • decision speed improves • execution becomes predictable HR shifts from damage control to capability building. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 🤫 Weak hiring creates work. Strong hiring removes it. You don’t feel hiring quality on Day 1. You feel it every day after. That’s why it matters. #Scale...

Pre-vetted talent pools are broken. Here's why most fail: Identity check ✓ Self-reported skills ✓ Inflated ratings ✓ Copied portfolios ✓ That's not vetting. That's a checkbox. We built a different system. 5 quality bars before you ever see a candidate: 1. Multi-stage technical assessments: Real problems. Real pressure. Real code. 2. Production code reviews: Not tutorials. Not toy projects. Actual systems they shipped. 3. System design challenges: Can they architect at scale? Prove it. 4. Reference checks with past clients: We verify the work. Not just the resume. 5. Portfolio authenticity verification: No GitHub copies. No stolen repos. Original work only. You still interview final candidates. But they've already cleared 5 filters most platforms skip. The result? Faster time to productivity. Lower mis-hire risk. Teams that ship from day one. Vetting is not a feature. It's our competitive advantage. Save this if you're tired of sorting through unqualified "pre-vetted" talent. #StaffAugmentation #TechHiring #EngineeringLeadership

Startups, scaleups and beyond: know your hiring bar and then don't hire below it. Setting a high hiring bar early on is critical, it sets the tone for everything that follows. But maintaining that standard as you grow? That’s where it gets tricky. In the early days, you're often hiring high-potential generalists. As you scale, you need to blend that potential with learned experience. That balance is hard to strike and even harder to assess. Founders and early leaders must know how to evaluate candidates across all functions, even ones outside their expertise. If you're not sure how to assess for a role, lean on your network, advisors or investors. Don’t wing it. The hiring bar isn’t just about skills. It should also include: Attitude Mission alignment Values Grit and determination Diversity of background and thought Before you start hiring, ask yourself: How will we assess for these consistently? Can we build a values-based interview framework across all roles? Invest in your bar now. It only gets harder later.

THIS is how I build my businesses. I use a simple framework called the ‘Three Bars’ framework which i created to help us see through friction, and to clarify which team members should be HIRED, PROMOTED and FIRED. It starts with asking yourself a very simple question in relation to a specific team member: "If everyone in the organisation had the same cultural values, attitude and level of talent as this employee, would the bar (the average) be raised, maintained, or lowered?" This question doesn’t seek similarity in perspectives, experience or interests. We know that diversity of thought, lived experience, or worldview is beneficial. But it does seek similarity in company cultural values, standards and attitude ✅ At all my companies, we categorise employees as: 🏋♂️ Bar raisers 🤷♂️ Bar maintainers 📉 Bar lowerers This framework has also been incredibly useful when assessing new recruits against current team standards. With every hire, you should be looking to RAISE THE BAR, and just like Sir Alex Ferguson did, if any current hire – regardless of how many trophies they’ve won you in the past – becomes a bar lowerer, you must quickly and decisively act to stop their influence destroying the sacred collective culture

Hiring gets messy when a team is tired and behind. That’s exactly when you most need a clear bar. In one debrief I remember, four interviewers wanted to hire a candidate who had given a string of “fine” answers. I wasn’t convinced. I started with the most junior person to avoid anchoring, and asked a simple question: did any answer stand out as great? "Not really". The replies were consistent. No particular answer was great. Why did they still want to hire the candidate? “They were the best we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks.” That was my concern. The bar isn’t “best of a weak pool.” The bar is “better than your current average and you're excited to hire them.” I vetoed the hire. The team was frustrated, but I’ve learned over the years that a meh hire is a tax on the organization. Hiring is expensive, but ramping up a meh hire is extremely costly. You spend months coaching, managing around gaps, until you decide that perhaps this person isn't going to work out. It's significantly better to hold the line. A helpful proxy is excitement. If you wouldn’t be genuinely glad to add this person to your team, keep looking. To learn more about how bar raisers protect hiring quality and how to evaluate candidates outside your domain, read on.

❓️ Why do we have Bar Raisers at Amazon and why does it matter for military hiring❓️ As someone who works closely with veterans and service leavers every day, this is something I get asked a lot. And honestly, it’s something I care deeply about. At Amazon, we don’t just want to hire people who can do the job, we want people who raise the bar. People who bring something extra. That’s why we have Bar Raisers involved in the interview process. A Bar Raiser is there to make sure we hire consistently great people, no matter the role or background. They’re trained to assess candidates not just on experience, but on how they demonstrate Amazon’s Leadership Principles, things like ownership, bias for action, and delivering results. This matters hugely when it comes to hiring from the military. Veterans bring so much to the table, leadership under pressure, adaptability, mission focus, and an ability to deliver in the most challenging environments. But let’s face it, the way military people describe their experience doesn’t always fit the neat corporate mould. That’s where Bar Raisers are so valuable. They help ensure that brilliant, capable people aren’t overlooked just because their CV or interview style is different. They help level the playing field and raise the hiring bar at the same time. For me, this is more than process. It’s about giving military talent a fair shot and recognising the value they can bring to Amazon. #MilitaryHiring #AmazonMilitary #BarRaiser #VeteransWork #HiringWithPurpose #LeadershipPrinciples

RAISING THE BAR ON TALENT: A STRATEGY FOR GROWTH AND LEADERSHIP RENEWAL One of the most misunderstood but powerful strategies in business comes from Amazon: Raise the Bar. At its core, raising the bar means every new hire must make the company stronger than it was before. It’s not about filling positions quickly or hiring “good enough.” It’s about intentionally seeking talent that lifts the performance, culture, and future trajectory of the business. For companies experiencing growth, the temptation is to hire quickly to keep up with demand. But urgency should never be an excuse for lowering standards. Instead: ✅ Define what better looks like. What does it mean to hire someone who is stronger than at least half the team they’re joining? Skills, leadership behaviors, cultural alignment—clarity is key. ✅ Implement independent checks. Amazon uses Bar Raisers—trained interviewers outside the hiring team with veto power—to ensure bias or urgency doesn’t water down talent quality. ✅ Think long-term. The question is not “Can this person do the job today?” but “Will they make the company stronger tomorrow?” Applying Raise the Bar to the Executive Team The strategy is equally important for leadership. Many organizations grow their headcount without growing their leadership capability. This is where companies stumble. I believe that CEOs of companies that are growing and signing large strategic customers, and entering new industries, must raise the bar across their entire organization. For example, I spoke with a CEO two weeks ago about his executive team. I have mentioned the company several times in LinkedIn posts, and I've used the phrase, "The CEO must raise the bar on talent." The CEO contacted me and asked me why I believed he needed to raise the bar on talent. This was my reply. ❌ CEOs must insist that their executives raise the bar on their teams. They should be building stronger teams, innovating faster, and leaving their function better than they found it. If they aren’t: ✅ Evaluate ruthlessly. Ask: “If this role were open today, would we hire this leader again?” ✅ Avoid sentimentality. Tenure or past contributions can’t be the sole reason someone stays. Growth requires leaders with the vision and skill to scale. ✅ Replace strategically. Bringing in new executives with fresh ideas, proven track records, and higher capabilities can reset the trajectory of the organization. Companies that truly embrace raise the bar create a compounding advantage. Every hire strengthens the organization. Every executive is held accountable to make the company better. Over time, the culture itself becomes the guardrail against mediocrity. As your company grows, don’t just ask whether you’re adding people. Ask whether you’re raising the bar—from frontline hires to the executive suite. That’s how you build a company designed not just to grow, but to lead. #strategy #retail #leadership

As you scale from 50—>100 headcount and beyond, maybe you’re starting to see lower talent quality within different pockets of your business. Why? Chances are, you didn't take the time to set your hiring bar EARLY and align your team around a well-defined hiring philosophy. Your bar = minimum standard for talent selection (who you hire) Your hiring philosophy = your hiring principles (how you hire) Founder and CEO, Vijaye Raji knew that a company-first hiring philosophy was important. To stay accountable to this philosophy, the Statsig team follows a hiring committee methodology. Hiring managers who are faced with extreme pressure to deliver, can make hiring decisions based on what is most optimal for them in the moment and don't always have the right mindset to apply a consistent hiring bar across the company. He's not wrong. "Someone is better than no one" are not the words spoken by anyone holding the best interests of the company in mind. This mindset will undermine talent density and create distrust between internal teams through company growth. As a founder, you constantly hear that the right team makes all the difference. But honestly, without a clearly defined philosophy or bar, you are walking the hiring journey without a map - guided only by perceptions, opinions, and individual agendas. We wrote more about defining your bar and hiring methods in Hooked on Meeting the Bar. What’s worked for you? Do you have an altering point of view? Share below 👇 #hiringstrategies #hiringbar #hiringperspectives #founders #startup https://lnkd.in/g6gcydcA

Neutrality is severely underrated in hiring, and speed of hiring is overrated. One of the Bar Raiser program’s most impactful elements is the inclusion of an impartial, 3rd party evaluator. This person has no stake in the hiring team’s immediate goals, often belongs to a separate department or division altogether, and is deeply invested in the company’s long-term success. Why does this matter? ✅ It minimizes unconscious bias ✅ It prevents “panic hiring” when teams are stretched thin ✅ It ensures cultural and core values alignment for the bigger picture ✅ It allows for a far deeper, more focused dive into other core areas of the candidate besides technical expertise ✅ It significantly raises the bar for the whole team in the mid to long run Imagine how many costly hiring mistakes could be avoided by embedding this process in your talent acquisition ecosystem. How do you ensure your hiring process maintains objectivity? #RaiseTheBar #Diversity #Leadership