Core-Values Hiring and 30-60-90 Fit Test
Screen for capability, test values, and verify fit through documented checkpoints.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 7
- Confidence
- 99%
This framework separates hiring and onboarding into complementary tests. First, define the role's responsibilities, success measures, and feedback expectations, then screen for the capability to perform the work. Among qualified candidates, evaluate observable alignment with core operating values such as forward thinking and adaptability. After hiring, use documented 30-, 60-, and 90-day checkpoints. At 30 days, identify what works, where the employee is stuck, and what should improve. At 60 days, compare progress with the first assessment and remove barriers. At 90 days, determine whether the person is fully onboarded and meeting agreed expectations. Direct feedback prevents leaders from silently absorbing work until dissatisfaction erupts. The output is a fairer, evidence-based decision about mutual fit and a clearer pathway for the employee to succeed.
Origin
Jasmine Star developed this approach after avoiding feedback, taking work back herself, and eventually surprising team members with dissatisfaction they had not been given a chance to address.
Core principles
- 01A capable candidate can still be wrong for the team's operating values.
- 02Roles need explicit responsibilities and success measures.
- 03Feedback is a service when it gives someone a pathway to succeed.
- 04Business fit should be assessed with evidence rather than accumulated resentment.
- 05A team requires mutual value, not familial permanence.
How to run it
- 1
Define the role contract
List responsibilities, expected outcomes, success measures, and how the person should receive and act on feedback.
Pro tip Describe what success looks like in observable terms.
Watch out A title and task list alone do not establish performance expectations.
- 2
Screen for capability
Evaluate whether candidates possess the skills and judgment required to perform the role.
Pro tip Use work samples or structured questions tied directly to responsibilities.
Watch out Do not introduce unrelated criteria that create bias.
- 3
Map against core values
Assess how qualified candidates have demonstrated the operating behaviors the organization needs, such as adaptability or forward thinking.
Pro tip Ask for past examples rather than inviting candidates to endorse abstract values.
Watch out Values alignment should not become a proxy for personal similarity.
- 4
Run the 30-day assessment
Review what is working, where the employee feels stuck, and what should improve during the next month.
Pro tip Document both the employee's perspective and the manager's observations.
Watch out Do not wait for a major failure before providing initial feedback.
- 5
Run the 60-day assessment
Compare progress with the 30-day record and identify what still prevents the employee from meeting expectations.
Pro tip Distinguish skill gaps from missing access, context, or managerial support.
Watch out Moving the goalposts makes the assessment unfair and unusable.
- 6
Make the 90-day fit decision
Review the documented expectations, support, progress, and remaining gaps to determine mutual fit and next steps.
Pro tip State the possible outcomes before the checkpoint arrives.
Watch out Follow applicable employment law and contractual obligations.
- 7
Continue results conversations
For established team members, separate personal worth from current results and agree on metrics, a plan, and a future assessment date.
Pro tip Use the phrase 'the story I'm telling myself' to surface assumptions without presenting them as facts.
Watch out Do not use emotional neutrality to avoid empathy or responsibility.
In the wild
A company lists the creative director's responsibilities, success measures, and approach to feedback. After confirming technical qualifications, it asks candidates for evidence that they anticipate downstream needs and adapt when a plan fails. The selected candidate then receives written 30-, 60-, and 90-day checkpoints.
→ The company evaluates both ability and operating fit while giving the new hire a documented path to success.
A leader and long-term content creator agree on facts, desired outcomes, three success measures, a revised content plan, and a three-month assessment date. Both understand that the question is whether the approach works, not whether either person has personal value.
→ A potentially emotional performance issue becomes a transparent experiment with mutual expectations.
Common mistakes
Hiring only for talent
Technical capability does not show whether someone plans ahead, adapts, or works according to the organization's necessary behaviors.
Doing the work instead of giving feedback
Quietly compensating for a gap denies the employee the information needed to improve and makes later dissatisfaction feel unexpected.
Treating the team as permanent family
Familial language can obscure the reality that employment is a mutual business relationship whose fit may change.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for leaders building teams who need a consistent way to assess capability, values, adaptation, and early performance.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal as a substitute for jurisdiction-specific employment law, HR advice, or fair and nondiscriminatory hiring procedures.
From the transcript
“Yes, you're qualified. We measure them against the core values.”
“If you don't tell people how they are not succeeding, they will not succeed.”
“We do a 30 1690 day check in program for anybody new we hire.”
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