Hire for Fit, Train for Skill

Hire for Fit, Train for Skill:
Building a High-Performance Team Utilizing the Best Athlete Profile

In today’s competitive labor market, especially in the skilled trades, the pressure to find top-tier talent is greater than ever. Yet, many companies are discovering that traditional methods of hiring based strictly on skillsets are failing to build sustainable, high-performing teams. What’s working instead? Hiring for fit and training for skill, a philosophy that prioritizes mindset, attitude, and cultural alignment over perfect resumes.

To bring this philosophy to life, manufacturing companies involved in the Talent Pipeline Program are utilizing the Best Athlete Profile (BAP) tool which aligns internal and external recruiters around a unified standard of what makes a great hire.

What is the Best Athlete Profile?

The Best Athlete Profile is more than a checklist, it’s a strategic framework that defines the ideal characteristics, behaviors, and motivations of a high-potential employee within your organization. This includes traits like: 

• Curiosity and a willingness to learn
• Reliability and accountability
• Strong communication skills
• Team-oriented mindset
• Alignment with company values

Rather than focusing solely on hard skills, the BAP helps teams evaluate whether a candidate has the capacity and desire to grow into the role, and into your company culture.

Why Fit Over Skill?

Skills can be taught. Culture, work ethic, and attitude, those are much harder to change. By focusing first on “fit,” your team can tap into a wider and more diverse pool of candidates who may not check every box on the job description but have the raw ingredients to thrive with the right training.

Hiring for fit also drives:

• Lower turnover
• Higher employee engagement
• Stronger team cohesion
• Faster ramp-up with training programs
  
  

Turning Your Team into Talent Scouts

The Best Athlete Profile becomes a game-changer when it’s rolled out across your organization as part of an internal recruiting network. This model can empower everyone at your foundry, especially supervisors, managers, and HR reps, to act as “recruiters” who are trained to:

• Spot potential in everyday interactions with candidates, community contacts, and even family members and friends
• Quickly screen for alignment with the BAP in casual conversations or formal interviews
• Redirect ‘no fit’ candidates into other potential roles or talent development pathways
• Guide qualified candidates through a consistent and informed hiring process

By equipping your internal recruiters with the BAP tool and a shared language around what “great talent” looks like, you create a scalable, grassroots recruiting engine.

Training the Recruiters: Alignment is Key

For this system to work, your internal recruiters must have a clear and consistent understanding of the hiring process. This includes:

• How to introduce the organization to candidates in an authentic, compelling way
• How to use the BAP as a filtering tool during informal conversations or first interviews
• How to handle candidate referrals, tracking, follow-up, and accountability
• How to prepare candidates with realistic expectations about the job, training, and growth opportunities

This internal alignment ensures that candidates move through the pipeline informed, excited, and prepared, not confused or discouraged.

Real-World Example: A Foundry Case Study

Imagine a non-ferrous foundry looking to grow its workforce. Instead of relying solely on job boards, they equip their supervisors and team leads with a BAP tailored to the foundry environment: strong work ethic, attention to detail, mechanical curiosity, and reliability.

The foundry attends community events, exhibits at job fairs, shops at retail stores where trained staff can engage with potential employees using the BAP lens. A curious high school senior asks questions about the casting process? That’s a “fit.” A recent military veteran expresses interest in long-term career growth? “Fit.”  A local resident drops by just looking for immediate income but shows no interest in the work itself? That’s likely a “no fit,” but maybe a short-term contract candidate.

By standardizing this approach across all touchpoints, the foundry creates a steady stream of well-vetted candidates who may not arrive fully trained, but arrive fully ready to grow.

Final Thoughts: Build a Team, Not Just a Workforce

Hiring for skill fills jobs. Hiring for fit builds teams. The Best Athlete Profile is the tool that lets you do both, with a long-game mindset and a collaborative, internal approach to recruitment.

By combining the power of aligned internal recruiters with a unified standard of “fit,” organizations can unlock a smarter, more human-centered approach to talent acquisition, and transform hiring from a pain point into a strategic advantage.

Want help developing your own Best Athlete Profile and improve your talent acquisition systems? Contact us to learn how the Talent Pipeline Program can support your hiring goals.