HireBest Basics
What is HireBest?
HireBest is a proven training program and software application for defining success, interviewing well and deciding on facts.
HireBest Academy
Hire on facts, not feelings
The HireBest method in short answers: define success with a Cipher, build the right hiring team, run structured interviews and make the decision together.
Start here
1 · The Job Cipher
Define success
Write down what the role must achieve before you meet a single candidate.
2 · Hiring Team
Don't hire alone
Bring the right people in to sharpen the Cipher and to see what you miss.
3 · Structured Interviewing
Interview with structure
Ask the same questions, the same way, every time, and get facts you can compare.
Go deeper
Take a course, or use the help centre for step-by-step guides to HireBest.
- HireBest Foundations On-DemandThe full method in short video lessons: the Cipher, the interview and the debrief.
- All HireBest coursesCourses for hiring managers, talent teams and interviewers.
- HireBest HelpStep-by-step guides to every screen in HireBest.
All articles
Search the Academy, or choose a topic.
Topic
HireBest Basics
Why do hiring processes fail?
Three drivers: you don't know what you're hiring for, interviews are unstructured, and one person does it alone.
HireBest Basics
Is HireBest an applicant tracking system (ATS)?
Not really. An ATS is the muscle behind your hiring process; HireBest is the brain.
HireBest Basics
Can I use HireBest with my ATS?
Yes. HireBest imports jobs and candidates from JazzHR today, and we build the connection to other ATSs on request.
HireBest Basics
Can I use HireBest with other people in my company?
Yes, and you should: each hiring team has roles for the people who help define, screen and interview.
HireBest Basics
How do I add a colleague?
An Admin invites colleagues to the organization; then anyone who runs a job can add them to its hiring team.
HireBest Basics
Something went wrong… who do I contact?
Something in HireBest did not work? Email support@hirebest.ai or use Fast Track Fix, and tell us what you did and what happened.
HireBest Basics
I found a bug… who do I contact?
Report a bug in HireBest: email support@hirebest.ai or use Fast Track Fix in the app, with the steps and a screenshot if you can.
HireBest Basics
How do I add HireBest to my phone or mobile device?
Use HireBest in your phone's browser at app.hirebest.ai, and pair the HireBest phone app to record in-person interviews.
The Job Cipher
What is a Cipher?
The Cipher is a concise document that explicitly details what success looks like for a given role.
The Job Cipher
The CODE: Charge, Outcome, Deliverables and Efforts
The CODE of a Cipher: how to write the Charge, the Outcome, the Deliverables and the Efforts, with the formula or guidelines for each.
The Job Cipher
Why should I use a Cipher?
Six reasons: save money, align the hiring team, shorten onboarding, coach better, stop reinventing the wheel and close the candidate you want.
The Job Cipher
How is the Cipher different from a job description?
A job description recruits; a Cipher defines what success looks like and gives the hiring team facts to compare.
The Job Cipher
Can I re-use a Cipher for a different hire?
Yes, when you hire again for the same role; check that the role has not changed, then build the new job's Cipher from it.
Hiring Team
Who should be on my hiring team?
The hiring manager, their manager, HR partners, internal customers and peers, future team members and sometimes outside stakeholders.
Hiring Team
What are the roles on a hiring team?
Hiring Manager, TA Partner, Cipher Review, Sourcing & Screening and Interviewer: what each role does.
Hiring Team
How do I create the hiring team?
Open the job's Settings tab and use Add Member in the Hiring Team section.
Hiring Team
Can't I just do this by myself?
No. A hiring manager who works alone gets the role definition and the decision wrong more often.
Jobs
How do I add a job?
Open Jobs, click New Job, fill in the form, then build the hiring team and the Cipher.
Jobs
How do I edit a job?
Change the title, level, function and description in the Job Details section of the job's Settings tab.
Jobs
What are the job settings?
The Settings tab holds the job details, the hiring team, the interview rounds and their templates, and Hogan assessments.
Jobs
How do I add a candidate?
Add a candidate from the job's Candidates tab, or import candidates from JazzHR.
Jobs
Using custom interview templates
The standard templates are all you need, but you can duplicate them or create your own and use them in a job.
Candidates
What is a panel interview?
An interview conducted by two or more interviewers at once. In HireBest, plan one-to-one interviews and give each interviewer their own chapters.
Structured Interviewing
What is Structured Interviewing?
Structured interviewing is doing the same thing, the same way, every time, to gather the facts you need.
Structured Interviewing
The three "be-ings"
Be curious, be consistent and be approachable: the mindset that makes an interview work.
Structured Interviewing
How should I kick off my interview with a candidate?
Set the stage: thank the candidate, be friendly, give the interview roadmap, and grant and request permissions.
Structured Interviewing
What questions do I ask in an interview?
The seven question groups of the HireBest decision interview, and what each one tells you.
Structured Interviewing
What's the best way to ask the questions?
The five do-ings: unaided questions, open-ended questions, short silent sweet, fireworks and drive to specifics.
Structured Interviewing
How do I make sure I am asking the right questions?
Use the same template for every candidate, ask unaided questions, and drive to specifics that test the Cipher.
Structured Interviewing
What is a question prompt?
Prompts are follow-up questions under each template question that help you get an answer without losing rapport.
Structured Interviewing
Can I ask questions that are not on the interview question list?
Yes: always ask follow-up questions that drive to specifics, but give every off-script question a clear purpose.
Structured Interviewing
Keeping an interview on track
Redirecting is not rude: ask permission at the start, then steer the candidate back to what matters for the Cipher.
Structured Interviewing
What are the different types of interviews?
Screening, First Round, Decision and Reference, and the chapters a decision interview covers.
Structured Interviewing
How many rounds of interviews is best?
At a minimum, a screening round followed by a decision round, with a first round in between when you need it.
Structured Interviewing
How many interviews is best?
Divide the candidate's career into chapters, so that each interviewer covers one or two past jobs.
Structured Interviewing
How long should we expect to spend interviewing each candidate?
Plan at least one hour for each interviewer with the candidate. Why the time up front costs far less than a bad hire.
Structured Interviewing
Should I ask a candidate about their time in high school?
For entry-level candidates with little work history, school, university and other life chapters are the evidence you have.
Structured Interviewing
How do I start an interview?
Open the interview from the dashboard, the job or the candidate, review the five preparation tabs, then confirm and start.
Structured Interviewing
Can I modify the standard HireBest interview templates?
The standard HireBest interview templates are view only, but you can duplicate any of them and change the copy for your organization.
Making the Decision
What are Hogan Assessments?
Hogan personality assessments add evidence about a candidate's suitability for a role.
Making the Decision
How can I use Hogan Assessments in my hiring process?
Use Hogan reports as one more input, alongside the interview evidence measured against the Cipher.
Making the Decision
How do Hogan Assessments work?
An Admin turns Hogan on and chooses the reports for a job; the team orders an assessment, the candidate gets a link, and the report comes back to HireBest.
Organizations & Admin
What are interview templates?
Interview templates are the question lists your interviewers use for structured interviews.
Organizations & Admin
How do I add or edit interview templates?
Admins and Super Admins create, duplicate and edit the organization's templates from Interview Templates.
Organizations & Admin
Who has access to the admin area?
Only Admins and Super Admins of an organization can open the HireBest Admin area. How to open it, and what a User can do.
Organizations & Admin
How do I connect my ATS?
An Admin connects JazzHR in Admin → ATS Integrations with a JazzHR API key.
Organizations & Admin
How do I enable Hogan Assessments for my organization?
An Admin turns on Hogan in Admin → Assessments, names approvers and adds a payment card.