The Benefits of Committable Core Values

Core values by themselves won’t strengthen a company unless they are committable and an organization is willing to both hire – and fire- by them. Zappos has two sets of interviews: the skills interview and the culture interview; and candidates must pass both.

The culture interview is based on Zappos’ 10 Core Values. If an applicant doesn’t pass it, they don’t move forward in the process, regardless of how much of a technical fit they may be. Past behaviors and touchpoints that come up during the interview that are contrary to the core values are red flags. “We infuse culture into every step of the recruiting process,” says Mike Bailen, Senior HR Manager at Zappos. “We really place such a high value on culture that if a candidate demonstrates behaviors out of alignment with our core values, we will stop the process right there.”

Creating an interview process that reviews more than just technical skills allows both companies and candidates to get to know each other and offers a better understanding of each other’s personalities. After all, an interview is a two-way street: an awkward first date where both parties are seeing if they want to take this relationship to the next level.