Talent Optimizers Blog

Why You Should Use PI Design in Your Hiring Process

Written by Damon Clark | Feb 15, 2026 4:45:01 PM

Make Even Better Candidate Selection

 

Every organization should have a validated behavioral assessment in their hiring process. Validation is key because it dramatically increases job success predictability, improves retention and engagement, and reduces the risk and cost of bad hires. Predictive Index is our recommended solution because it’s intuitive, powerful, and effective.

Using PI Hire allows organizations to assess job requirements behaviorally and map candidates against those requirements. This alone is a huge step toward increasing the likelihood of a successful hire. But to take hiring to the next level, you need to consider PI Design.

PI Design wasn’t originally developed for hiring. Its primary purpose is to align teams to organizational strategy. But when you combine Design with Hire, you gain actionable insights into how candidates will interact with their future team and contribute to team objectives.

How it works:

  • Temporarily mark the candidate as hired and provide a temporary email address to access Design

  • Review the candidate in Design alongside the team they will be joining

  • Color-code, map team dynamics, and assess whether they complement the current team

  • Consider adding behavioral types that increase alignment to team objectives or fill strategic gaps

Sometimes candidates bring strengths that the current team doesn’t naturally have behaviorally, which can be critical for achieving strategic objectives. I’ve seen this approach used successfully in discovery sessions with hiring managers. Some managers, especially high A (Dominance) types, are skeptical at first, but when they review their team in Design and overlay strategic goals, they quickly understand the value.

By using Design alongside Hire, you can:

  • Identify behavioral types that best support team objectives

  • Make hiring decisions that improve retention and performance

  • Create alignment between team capabilities and strategic goals

  • Develop a consultative hiring process that engages managers and candidates

Combining Hire and Design isn’t just about filling a seat—it’s about building stronger, high-performing teams that are aligned to what the organization wants to achieve.