The field of human resources is constantly evolving and changing due to new techniques, technology and trends within the realm of HR. But perhaps the most influential element in human resources is, in fact, those exceptional leaders who are able to rethink, reimagine and recreate HR processes. These HR leaders bring a fresh perspective and new methods that can revolutionize the workplace. Here are a few human resources leaders who have made a lasting impact in the field, and why their ideas are so important.

The Netflix Former Chief of Talent shakes up hiring

Netflix’s former Chief of Talent, Patty McCord, revolutionized Netflix’s HR with her new ideas about company culture and how to build the most effective teams. According to McCord, the hiring and recruiting processes were broken and in need of a major revamp, specifically in the interview stage. McCord suggests that in order to most fully evaluate a candidate during the interview process, it’s imperative to ask smart and specific questions that will reveal the candidate’s true personality and thoughts. McCord warns, “if you ask stock questions, you will get stock answers.”

Additionally, McCord warns of hiring a candidate who will fit perfectly with the existing team. If your team is homogenous they may work well together and even be great friends, but your business will suffer from lack of diversity in thought and ideas. By hiring a candidate purposely different, McCord purports you’re able to bring fresh and new ideas that will challenge your team to grow and to expand forward.

 

Rethinking the interview, tips from LinkedIn’s Head of Recruiting

Older models for typical interview structures are beginning to slip away, making room for innovative interviewing techniques that allow for a fuller understanding of a candidate. LinkedIn’s Head of Recruiting, Brendan Browne, suggests asking a candidate what they’re most passionate about and then on a whiteboard asks them to explain how it works or the processes behind their passion.

The idea is that the candidate’s answer does not need to be, and in fact preferably will not be, related to the position. When a candidate explains something they are passionate about (like rock climbing or brewing homemade beer) they will speak passionately and from knowledge, and hopefully interview stress will slip away. The interviewer will be able to better evaluate how their mind works and various other strengths and weaknesses can come to the surface.

Browne warns that traditional interview structures are pretty bad at predicting how a candidate will perform once hired, and by introducing something personal and informal into the process, such as the exercise with the whiteboard, a company can posses better tools with which to discern the eligibility of a candidate.

Never compromise, tips from Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google

Laszlo Bloc, Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google, has also generated some new ideas regarding the traditional interview process. According to Bloc, it’s imperative that the candidate is interviewed by the employees that he or she would be eventually managing. This idea changes the traditional idea that only upper management should accurately discern who is qualified to be a good leader, and instead the hiring and interview process become a group effort.

Bloc also insists that you should only ever hire people who are better than you. By constantly hiring better, smarter, and fresher talent you will be pushing your organization to reach new heights never before seen. Bloc also warns to not compromise, ever! If the candidate is not quite right, keep searching because he or she is out there and is worth the wait.

Netflix, LinkedIn, and Google are undeniably some of the top performing and innovative companies today and that is due in large part to their unique, diverse and talented teams. All three companies and their human resources leaders can agree that older traditional models of interviewing are no longer relevant and must be rethought in order to effectively help hiring managers to understand and discern a candidate’s full potential. By introducing new techniques and approaching the hiring and recruiting process from a fresh new angle, your business will benefit from hiring more accurate and qualified candidates.