Good Intentions Never Work

Source: Gallup Published: December 2017

Source: Gallup
Published: December 2017

Good Intentions Never Work

Circulated: July 8, 2019

“A lot of people have great intentions, but at Amazon, we work to build mechanisms so that we can take those intentions and turn them into complete processes that we implement and inspect.” — Beth Galetti, SVP of HR

One of our mechanisms is our interview process. It’s set up to evaluate a candidate from the standpoint of our Leadership Principles. Each interview loop includes a “Bar Raiser,” an Amazonian who is an objective third party not associated with the team. The best long-term hiring decisions are made to ensure the company is always serving, surprising, and innovating for customers.

The role of the Bar Raiser is to be a steward of Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles. Bar Raisers — since 1999 — aren’t motivated to hire fast; they are motivated to hire well.