Should You Hire For Experience Or Potential?

We were in Dallas last week and had a number of people come up to us after our sessions, workshops, or keynotes asking a variety of questions. A lot of those questions were around employees—how to find them, recruit them, hire them, and retain them. One of the biggest subsets of questions we heard was: do we hire for experience or do we hire for potential?

In other words, do we hire somebody who's expensive, has been in the business a long time, and theoretically knows what they're doing? Or do we hire someone who's a little green behind the ears—maybe not as heavy on the investment side, but who will require a lot of internal training? It's a great question, and one I want to tackle today.

This is Scott Beebe with Business on Purpose. I'm super excited to be able to help liberate you from chaos and help you make time for the things that matter most. Hang tight until the end—I’ll give you a couple of resources I think will be really helpful for you.

When you hire someone for your business, you have to understand that you're essentially entering into a relationship that’s somewhat like a marriage. There's a long-term aspect to it. It's not actually marriage, but you get what I'm saying. That underscores the importance of approaching hiring with clarity—but it doesn't stop there.

The onboarding process is equally crucial for setting the right tone and expectations when bringing on a new person. To ensure a smooth transition for new team members, I recommend implementing a documented, checklist-based onboarding system. This system should be detailed and structured—breaking down the first four weeks (or even eight to twelve weeks) into specific time blocks.

For example, you might have a plan for Week 1, Day 1, Hour 1, followed by Week 1, Day 1, Hour 2, and so on. Now lest you think this is silly—we actually have a new team member starting tomorrow. At the time of this recording, they'll be coming in at 7:30 AM, and we've got their entire day lined out—not just tomorrow, but the next four weeks. We’ve extended that level of detail so we can give them great clarity from day one.

Regardless of whether you're hiring for experience or for potential, if you have that kind of meticulous plan, it communicates a couple of things up front. First, it shows that your business has established procedures and expectations, and that you expect them to follow them—because you do. Second, it demonstrates that your organization values transparency over chaos and provides a structured environment for success. And finally, it sets the expectation that once onboarded, your new team member should maintain that level of precision and organization in their own work—especially when dealing with others in the business.

When it comes to talent acquisition, you have two main options. Let’s go back to that idea. You can pursue top-tier, experienced professionals, but be prepared for the associated cost, responsibilities, and investment. Hiring world-class talent often means you’re buying the whole field—in other words, you’re investing in the entire skill set and experience, which comes with a premium price tag, and sometimes, premium drama and the need for higher-level management.

Alternatively, you can recruit individuals who may not have extensive experience but show a lot of potential—or have the right character. This can be effective if you’ve built a business with clear processes and systems. In that scenario, you’re relying on your well-structured culture to shape and develop these hires into top-performing team members over time.

Both strategies have their merits. The choice depends on your business’s specific needs, your resources, your long-term goals, and your willingness as a leader. But whichever path you choose, remember that clarity in your procedures and expectations is key to successfully integrating new talent and fostering their growth within the organization.

Now, just a little caveat—lest you think that if you're not highly structured but you bring in someone with experience, it’ll all work out—remember this: it's still a lack of clarity that you're bringing them into. So don’t expect their long-term experience to compensate for internal challenges. You’ve got to go back and invest in the purpose, people, process, and profit.

If you want to read more about this, I’ve got a brand new book out called The Chaos Free Contractor. Now, if you happen not to be a contractor or someone who supports contractors—don’t worry. Just replace “contractor” with your own business type, and everything will still apply. You’ll enjoy it.

Just go to our website, BusinessOnPurpose.com, or head to Amazon.com and grab a copy of The Chaos Free Contractor.

 

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