I have previously written about Ellevation’s hiring culture and our evidence based approach to finding the right people to join our growing team. This post is going to zoom in on one critical aspect of the hiring process – the debrief – and argue that it’s one of the most underutilized sources of value in a hiring process.
What is a Hiring Debrief?
A hiring debrief happens after candidates complete an interview round. A round is often 2-3 different conversations with a mix of 1-1 conversations, panel interviews, and exercises (such as a technical exercise or a case study). It’s the hiring manager’s decision whether to call a debrief. If a candidate is obviously not a great fit, we usually skip this step and release the candidate to be respectful of their time. When we are able to gather evidence that demonstrates the canditate might be a good fit, the hiring manager will call the interview team together to debrief the candidates (1-3 is recommended).
Before the Debrief
Ahead of the debrief, the interview team is responsible for conducting the interview and submitting their feedback in an Applicant Tracking System. No feedback means no invite. Then, the hiring manager is responsible for reviewing that feedback, and developing a synthesized perspective of what we know about each candidate. This structure ensures all interviewers come prepared and gives the hiring manager a clear foundation to guide the discussion.
The Power of a Structured Debrief
The hiring manager kicks off the debrief by offering a concise synthesis of what we have learned about the candidate. It’s important that the hiring manager speaks to the evidence collected against the scorecard. After highlighting what we do know, the hiring manager can shift to frame the conversation on what 2-3 themes to dig in on. These may be differing interpretations from the interview team, the lack of evidence in a key area, or a flag of “negative evidence” (a reason the candidate is not a good fit for the role).
After identifying the key themes, the hiring manager shifts into a facilitation role where they seek data points from the interview team to openly navigate different perspectives. This phase calls for active facilitation, not passive moderation. Some of my favorite questions are borrowed from Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats framework which emphasizes that diverse perspectives explored in parallel lead to faster, better decisions:
- Does someone want to offer any counter-evidence to this?
- Did anyone have a different take on that question / part of the interview?
- Is this the absence of evidence or negative evidence?
Accelerating Learning
One of the biggest benefits of the hiring debrief is to be able to sharpen the frame for what to do next which in turn helps make decisions less complex. If there is a gap in demonstrated evidence, that gives us an opportunity to go back to the candidate in a subsequent conversation and steer into that question. Constructive discussions like these ensure we’re making nuanced, thoughtful decisions—not just quick choices.
Cultivating Better Interviewers
Debriefs aren’t only beneficial for the hiring manager and candidates; they’re also rich opportunities for team members to sharpen their interviewing skills. Seasoned interviewers can lead by example and hiring managers can offer constructive coaching as well as positive reinforcement about what type of feedback and input is most constructive.
It’s common to hear phrases like, “I noticed some amount of nuance in how y’all viewed that response — let’s unpack that together.” This reflective environment drives continual skill enhancement and builds alignment among the interview team.
Transparency, Speed, and Fairness for Candidates
Candidates deserve an equitable, transparent hiring process. Structured debriefs reflect our commitment to these values. They enable us to carefully review all feedback, evaluate the evidence we have gathered, identify gaps, and determine next steps with clarity.
We also place a lot of emphasis on doing debriefs in a timely manner. Because scheduling can be difficult, we block off an hour block at the end of the day every Tuesday and Thursday for debriefs across DevPro. This allows us to overcome the inertia of complicated schedules and move candidates forward or release them as soon as possible.
Building Culture Through Thoughtful Hiring
Our hiring practices directly influence our team culture. By embedding thoughtfulness into every step, including rigorous debriefs, our interview process shapes the way our teams operate and think about their work. If you’re someone who values collaboration, continuous growth, and thoughtful professional practices, we’d love to connect with you.
