Would You Hire Yourself?

In today’s corporate landscape, the gap between what companies expect from their employees and what they’re willing to offer in return has become glaring. Nowhere is this disconnect more apparent than in how organizations approach hiring versus retaining talent.

On the one hand, companies seek new hires with a wealth of experience, exposure to emerging technologies, and a track record of growth. They celebrate candidates who have taken risks, learned from failures, and demonstrated initiative in their professional development—often through efforts undertaken outside their core job responsibilities.

Yet for their existing employees, the story is very different. Growth is neither encouraged nor rewarded. A failure that might make a candidate more appealing as a potential hire becomes a black mark on an employee's record. And personal development outside of work is viewed with suspicion—“Why weren’t you working harder for us?” Companies are asking for loyalty and excellence while offering fungibility and distrust in return.

This disconnect is costing organizations dearly in talent retention, employee satisfaction, and long-term innovation.

A Tale of Two Standards

A friend of mine recently experienced this contradiction firsthand. He worked at a well-known startup, where he was discouraged from speaking at conferences and contributing to open-source projects—activities he loved and excelled at. The company viewed these pursuits as distractions from his core responsibilities.

Not long after, I interviewed for a role at the same startup. Despite my qualifications, I was told they were looking for a candidate with a larger social media presence and more external exposure. The irony wasn’t lost on me: they penalized my friend for doing exactly what they penalized me for not doing.

This isn’t an isolated case. Many companies hire rockstars for their grit, initiative, and industry expertise—only to crush their aspirations, ignore their ideas, and penalize their behaviors once they’re on the payroll. It’s a recipe for disillusionment and disengagement.

The Role of Process and Structure

At large companies, the disconnect is exacerbated by rigid processes and standardized roles. These structures are designed to reduce reliance on any single employee, ensuring that the company functions smoothly even as people come and go. But there’s a trade-off:

• Fungibility Over Individuality: Employees are treated as interchangeable parts, with little room to leverage their unique skills or ideas.
• Contradictory Expectations: Companies hire individuals for their personal flair and accomplishments but place them in roles where those qualities can’t be expressed.

Smaller companies, on the other hand, often rely more heavily on the unique strengths of their teams but fail to recognize how critical individual contributions can be. This leads to undervaluing employees and underinvesting in their development—just as large companies overinvest in hiring for roles where individuality doesn’t matter.

The Cost of Misalignment

The consequences of this disconnect are far-reaching:

• High Turnover: Employees leave when they feel undervalued or unable to grow, creating a costly cycle of hiring and onboarding.
• Lost Knowledge: Frequent turnover erodes institutional knowledge, forcing teams to relearn lessons repeatedly.
• Low Morale: Employees disengage when they see their aspirations dismissed and their growth stifled.

These aren’t just workforce issues—they’re business issues. Companies that fail to invest in their employees’ growth lose their most valuable asset: their people.

Closing the Gap

To align hiring and retention strategies, companies must rethink how they treat their workforce. Here’s how:

1. Encourage Growth: Allow employees to attend conferences, work on side projects, and pursue professional development. Create an environment where growth is celebrated, not punished.
2. Reward Risk-Taking: Reframe failure as an opportunity for learning, both in performance reviews and in team culture.
3. Reevaluate Metrics: Ensure that performance evaluations align with the qualities valued in hiring, such as creativity, initiative, and resilience.
4. Combine Hiring and Promotion Processes: Instead of treating promotions and advancements as entirely separate from hiring, companies should unify these processes. For roles at the next level, presumptive candidates can go through an interview process modeled on how external applicants are evaluated. A panel of interviewers, ideally including external perspectives, assesses whether they would hire the employee into the desired role.
5. Foster Loyalty: Build a workplace where employees feel invested in and valued, knowing their efforts contribute to something greater.

Why Combine Processes?

This solution directly addresses the disconnect between what companies value in external hires and how they treat existing employees. By applying the same rigorous standards to promotions, organizations:

• Signal that they value internal talent as much as external candidates.
• Create a meritocratic culture that rewards growth, learning, and initiative.
• Build trust by offering actionable feedback, even when promotions aren’t granted.

Moreover, employees are more likely to stay and invest in their development when they see a clear, fair path to advancement.

A Call to Leadership

The question every leader must ask is simple: Are we creating an environment where people want to stay? Loyalty is earned through mutual investment. If companies want employees to commit their time, energy, and talent, they must offer the same in return.

A disconnect between hiring and retention isn’t just inefficient—it’s a betrayal of trust. To fix it, organizations must align their practices, treat their people with respect, and invest in their growth. By combining hiring and promotion processes, companies can ensure that their actions reflect their values—and their workforce reflects their ambitions.