The Bar Raiser hiring process is basically a unique process of assessing the capabilities of applicants aspiring to be a part of one of the biggest electronic commerce companies in the planet. This is a process that has been present and consistently used since the company’s infancy. It can be apparent in the company’s hiring process, especially for executive and managerial level positions.
Basically, the Bar Raiser is a process wherein a selected group of people known as the Bar Raisers evaluate an individual’s value and long term employability after asking them to perform a task or asking them a question that most of the time is not related to the position they are applying for . The rationale behind such move is to check which applicants have the best ability to adapt to different situations and to weed out the ones who are only good at one skill. The company simply wants to take the time to hire the right people because it thinks that it would eventually save them a lot of time, trouble, and financial resources in the long run; because it is costlier to hire the wrong person.
The potential advantages of Amazon’s using Bar Raiser in its broader hiring process can be a lot. For one, it enables its own people, basically those who already have a direct knowhow on the company’s operations to handpick or veto certain applicants based on their perceptions—which are in turn based on years of experience within the company .
The idea behind it is that people who have already experienced how hard and tough it is to stay and work in the company would be the best ones to know whether an applicant would be able to do the same (ideally with flying colors). Even the company’s founder Jeff Bezos think that it is the right thing, that existing employees should have that much of a participation in the hiring process. Another major advantage of this hiring approach is that it makes the company more effective in acquiring real and genuine talented individuals who also work for other disciplines . The company basically puts its faith in the idea that individuals who have no experience in the field but have the ability to quickly adapt to new environments and learn new skills fast are better than those who only excel in one area or discipline.
The major disadvantage of this approach is perception bias. By giving some significant employees in the company’s operations the ability to veto applicants, it promotes perception bias. That is, the selection of an applicant based on perception. It would be like depending on gut feel. It is basically a subjective way of hiring because even the least experienced employees get hired and even the ones with the most experience in the position they are applying for get rejected.
There are two types of job applicants who may be advantaged or disadvantaged by the Bar Raiser scheme at Amazon. The first one would be those who have spent years honing their skills in a certain department—perhaps sales, inventory and logistics, among others. They are the ones who may be at a disadvantage because their experience would basically mean nothing to some Bar Raisers within the company; they can still get rejected if they fail to prove their worth (to provide the perfect response to the bar raisers’ questions) or prove their proficiency in some skills.
The other type of job applicants would be those who have minimal to no experience in the discipline or operation they are applying for. They are the ones who would be at an advantage because their lack of experience cannot hinder the success of their application for as long as they wow the bar raisers.
References
Bensinger, G. (2014). Amazon's Current Employees Raise the Bar for New Hires. The Wall Street Journal, http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304753504579285133045398344.
Jones, G., & George, J. (2015). The Wall Street Journal Case in the News: Amazon Recruits Face Bar Raisers. in Contemporary Management Ninth Edition, 376-377.
Moss, C. (2014). Being One Of Jeff Bezos' Designated 'Bar Raisers' Is Like Having A Second Job You Don't Get Paid To Do. Business Insider Tech, http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-bar-raisers-2014-1.
