When global organisations think about talent acquisition, the scale and complexity involved is enormous.
adidas employs more than 60,000 people globally across multiple markets, functions and cultures, making recruitment consistency and long-term talent performance critically important to the organisation.
That’s one of the reasons the feedback from Rob Burgess, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at adidas, was particularly interesting following the Hire Great People programme delivered by Simon Hartley, Founder of Be World Class.
What resonated most strongly with Rob was not simply the idea of recruiting on character, but how practical and applicable the methodology felt in a real organisational environment, even one as complex as adidas.
Why character became “the real unlock”
Reflecting on the impact of the programme, Rob Burgess described the focus on character as “the real unlock” for his team.
That observation reflects one of the central themes behind the Hire Great People methodology. Most organisations already assess technical capability reasonably well. CVs, qualifications and experience are relatively easy to evaluate.
What’s often much harder is understanding:
- how somebody behaves under pressure
- how they respond to feedback
- whether they align culturally
- how adaptable they are
- whether they positively influence the wider team around them
Those things are often what determine long-term success. That idea tends to resonate strongly with leadership teams because many organisations have experienced technically capable hires who ultimately weren’t the right long-term fit for the environment.
As Rob explained after being introduced to the Hire Great People methodology, “The parallels between high performing sports teams and the corporate world are clear but channelling this down into how they actually recruit talent and focus a lot on ‘character’ was the real unlock for us.”
Practical recruitment thinking rather than theory
Another interesting part of Rob’s feedback was the emphasis on practicality.
He described the methodology as “genuinely meaningful content that’s backed with tangible examples and not just theory”.
That practical application was a core component of how Headstar and Simon Hartley developed the CPD-accredited Hire Great People online programme.
The methodology has been refined over several years through numerous in-person workshops, leadership events, practical implementation inside organisations and ongoing real-world feedback from business leaders.
More recently, the focus has been on turning that experience and feedback into a practical online programme organisations could access more easily and implement over time.
As well as more than 45 bite-size video lessons, a comprehensive interactive workbook and a signed copy of one of Simon Hartley’s books, the programme also includes three live group coaching sessions with Simon.
Importantly, those sessions are deliberately spaced across several months to give organisations time to apply the methodology properly within their own recruitment processes and embed the thinking more consistently across the business.
That combination of practical learning, implementation and ongoing coaching is a major part of what leaders like Rob Burgess from adidas found so valuable about the methodology.
Ultimately, the focus is on helping organisations make better hiring decisions, reduce poor long-term fit and build stronger, higher-performing teams.
What’s included in the Hire Great People programme:
• Three live group coaching sessions with Simon Hartley
• 45+ bite-size video lessons with a comprehensive interactive workbook
• 14.25 hours of recognised CPD learning
• Signed copy of Simon Hartley’s best-selling book, Hire Great People
More importantly, the programme is designed to help organisations:
• Improve hiring success rates by recruiting more intentionally around character
• Reduce the cost, disruption and frustration of poor hiring decisions
• Build stronger cultures and higher-performing teams
• Create a more consistent and repeatable recruitment process
50% introductory discount currently available using code: HireGreatPeople50
Learn more here: www.headstar.co.uk/great
