Modern recruitment goes beyond assessing candidates’ technical qualifications. Hiring managers are now prioritising making recruitment decisions based on personality. Values based recruitment (VBR) has emerged as a popular hiring approach, particularly within the NHS and social care sectors.
It emphasises the selection of those whose personal values and behaviours align with the organisation’s mission. Instead of just asking what you can do, recruiters explore how you do it and why it matters to you.
Preparing for this approach requires deep self-reflection and the ability to articulate your principles to present yourself as a perfect cultural match for long-term career success. This article explains VBR in detail and sets out how to prepare for a values based interview.
Key Takeaways on Values Based Recruitment
- Focuses on personal principles and behaviours in addition to technical skills to maintain cultural consistency over time.
- Uses situational judgement tests and structured interviews designed to reduce the advantage of rehearsed answers.
- Requires candidates to adapt CVs with specific evidence of upholding ethics like compassion and integrity.
- Implemented by large employers, such as the NHS, to ensure staff understand and reflect the core NHS Constitution values.
- Preparation involves mapping life experiences to the employer’s mission using structured storytelling techniques.
What Is Values Based Recruitment?
Values Based Recruitment is an evidence-based approach to hiring. Many UK employers prefer this approach to check whether a candidate aligns with the core objectives, culture, and expectations of the workplace. Instead of only looking at past work history or technical skills, it evaluates who the person is and how they work. Recruiters focus on:
- Your personal values
- Your behaviour and attitude
- What motivates you
The goal is cultural fit — new hires who settle naturally into the day-to-day workplace.
What Are the Core Principles of Values Based Recruitment?
- Alignment: Matching of individuals’ ethics to the mission of the organisation.
- Consistency: Applying the same set of values throughout the hiring process.
- Inclusivity: Aiming to reduce reliance on background or qualifications, with equality and diversity safeguards built in.
- Evidence: Making decisions based on actual evidence of past behaviour.
- Authenticity: Presenting a true, honest picture of the company culture.
- Holistic View: Balancing character traits equally alongside technical skills.
What is the Difference Between Values Fit and Culture Fit?
Values fit is focused exclusively on how closely the core ethics and moral principles of an individual align with the organization’s beliefs, but culture fit is much more expansive and also considers how that person works on a daily basis, how they communicate, what they do, what they say, and how they work with others on their team. In short, shared values are just one component of an overall organisational culture.
What Is the Values Based Recruitment Process?
Value based recruitment is generally a five-stage process:
- Attraction: Job ads clearly communicate the company’s vision, values, and behaviours expected in the workplace.
- Filtering: Application forms contain specific questions to help weed out candidates who are not in line with core values.
- Assessment: Candidates sit psychometric tests, situational judgement tests, or role-play exercises to demonstrate their values in action.
- Interviewing: Managers use a mix of past-behaviour prompts (“Describe a time when…”) and situational prompts (“What would you do if…”) so they can see how your values translate into action, not just how you describe them.
- Onboarding: The induction and training programmes include reinforcement of company values from the first day at work.
What Is the Difference between Values Based and Competency Based Interviews?
Both value based and competency-based interviews rely on past behaviour to forecast future performance. But competency-based interview questions are centred on specific functional skills such as communication or problem-solving. On the other hand, value based interviews are based on an individual’s personal drivers, ethics, and cultural fit to an organisation’s core values.
Are Values Based Interviews the Same as Behavioural Interviews?
Value based interviews and behavioural interviews are not synonymous, but closely connected. Both share a structure — real-life examples — but they probe different things. A behavioural interview often includes strength-based interview questions to know about your skills and competencies, while a value based interview asks you about your principles and cultural fit.
How does Skill-based Hiring differ from Value-Based Hiring?
While value-based hiring focuses on who a candidate is, skill-based hiring focuses on what a candidate can do. The core difference lies in the ultimate objective: skill-based hiring aims to maximise immediate technical proficiency and execution to fill the immediate capability gaps.
Also, skill-based interviews rely on objective evidence through work samples, practical simulations, and structured case studies. This approach assumes values are fixed; skills can be tested.
Most forward-thinking organisations do not choose just one method. Instead, they use a hybrid funnel. They run skill-based screening in the early stages to ensure the candidate can handle the workload, followed by value-based interviewing at the final stage to ensure the candidate will thrive within the team dynamic.
What Is an Example of Values Based Recruitment?
The National Health Service (NHS) is one of the most prominent examples of value based recruitment globally. In the NHS, VBR is a way to eliminate applicants who may be ideal on paper but not ideal in the workplace.
A candidate applying to be a nurse is not just tested on their clinical ability to give an injection. They are also assessed for compassion and respect through situational questions, ensuring that they treat their patients with dignity while providing care.
What Are the 6 NHS Values?
NHS values based recruitment focuses on these core values:
- Working together for patients: Putting patients first and working across teams.
- Respect and dignity: Treating all individuals as unique and respecting their needs.
- Commitment to quality of care: Working to meet best practice and safety standards.
- Compassion: Responding with humanity, empathy, and kindness.
- Improving lives: Making efforts to enhance health and wellbeing.
- Everyone Counts: Ensuring fair use of resources, thus leaving no one behind.
To embed the core values of the NHS Constitution into every stage of the workforce pipeline, Health Education England (now part of NHS England), with NHS Employers, developed the national value based recruitment framework NHS, which includes:
- Pre-Application Integration
- Structured Assessment
- Patient and Public Involvement
- Holistic Onboarding
The framework converts the six core NHS values into measurable, observable everyday behaviours:
Interview Preparation Guide for Values Based Recruitment
Knowing how to prepare for an interview for value based hiring is important as it moves the interview discussion from capability to how and why you do it, aligning you with an organisation’s core ethics.
Without focused preparation, your CV and interview answers will sound generic and will not show the assessors the behavioural qualities they are strictly marking.
This guide will help you with your preparation for values based recruitment in health and social care:
1. How to Prepare Your CV for VBR?
A value based CV needs to move from a generic list of skills and past employment to a story about who you are. Employers want to see that your personal qualities are a natural fit for the job. Here are some tips:
- Review the Job Description: Look for specific values that are stated. If trust and collaboration are key components of the job, your CV needs to show evidence of your integrity and teamwork.
- Create a Values-Led Profile: Instead of a generic summary, use your opening statement to define your professional philosophy.
- Highlight Impact, not Tasks: Present past job roles using the language of impact rather than tasks. Describe what good things you did for others through your behaviour.
- Emphasise Soft Skills as Core Skills: Make traits such as empathy, active listening, and resilience just as significant as technical skills and certifications.
- Add Volunteering and Personal Projects: These are usually the best way to demonstrate out-of-work motivations and values.
If you find it difficult to express your personal values and ethics within a professional context, a specialist CV writing service can assist you in converting your lived values and ethics into behavioural language. Contact the iCover team to discuss.
Here’s a sample CV for values based recruitment NHS:
2. How Do I Prepare for a Values Based Interview?
In a value based interview, the recruiter wishes to gain insight into the individual beyond their professional credentials. You will most likely be questioned about your values and what you do when you encounter ethical challenges.
Preparing for a values based interview is important because it requires a level of self-reflection that traditional interviews do not. You’ll need to be able to answer not only how you did it, but also why you did it in certain ways. It is about showing that your own compass matches the organisational culture.
Here are some key tips for VBR interviews while answering values based recruitment questions for care workers:
- Reflect on Your Stories: Identify moments in your career where you had to make a difficult choice or go above and beyond. These stories are your proof.
- Read the Framework: If applying for a job in the public sector, read through the public sector value statement or constitution to see the exact definitions of terms such as compassion or integrity.
- Be Authentic: Don’t give the answer you think they want to hear. Assessors know how to identify answers that are rehearsed and not “felt”.
- Focus on the Process: When describing a success, spend more time explaining your thought process and how you considered the feelings of others involved.
In the next sections, we have shared some values based recruitment interview questions and answers that are worth practising.
What Questions Are Asked in a Values Based Interview?
Values based interview questions are about consistency between what you say and what you have actually done. They typically open with prompts such as “Describe a time when…” or “What would you do if…”, both designed to show your values in action rather than in theory.
Here are 10 examples of values based interview answers to commonly asked care assistant questions:
1. Tell us about a time when you saw a colleague treat a patient or service user with a lack of respect. What did you do?
How to answer: Tell how you witness the incident. You immediate action to support the patient (e.g. sitting with them until they finished) and how you report your colleague’s behaviour to higher authorities.
For example:
“During a late shift, I witnessed a colleague speak sharply to a resident to rush her meal. I stepped in immediately to take over meal support, remaining with the resident until she felt comfortable and had finished eating. I formally reported the incident to the shift lead that night, adhering to our dignity and safeguarding policy. My report prompted a management review, leading to team-wide refresher training on dignity in care.”
2. Describe a situation where you had to admit to a mistake you made at work.
How to answer: Demonstrate accountability by explaining the error and your immediate steps to fix it. Focus on how you changed your practice to ensure it never happened again.
For example:
“During a busy handover, I recorded fluid intake on the wrong resident’s chart. As soon as I realised, I informed the nurse in charge so we could clinically review both residents. I completed an incident report and now strictly verify the name on every chart before writing. Owning the mistake immediately ensured resident safety wasn’t compromised.”
3. How do you ensure that you are treating every patient as an individual rather than just another task?
How to answer: Explain how you prioritise “person-centred care” over a checklist. Use an example of how you adapted a routine to suit a resident’s specific preference or dignity.
For example:
“I prioritise personal preferences, using preferred names and respecting daily routines, rather than just following a care-plan checklist. For example, I noticed a resident was unhappy being washed before his morning tea, so I reversed his routine. This small adjustment significantly improved his mood; person-centred care means adapting the task to the person.”
4. Tell us about a time you had to work with someone you did not get along with to achieve a goal.
How to answer: Show professionalism by explaining how you put personal feelings aside for the patient’s benefit. Highlight clear communication as the tool you used to bridge the gap.
For example:
“I was paired with a senior colleague whose blunt communication style I found difficult. To ensure a resident’s safe two-person transfer, I suggested we agree on our verbal cues before starting to ensure we were synchronised. By focusing on the resident’s safety rather than our personality clash, we worked effectively and maintained a high standard of care.”
5. Give an example of how you have contributed to a positive culture in your previous workplace.
How to answer: Focus on initiative and teamwork. Describe an action you took (like mentoring or morale-boosting) that helped the team feel more supported and stable.
For example:
“To help reduce high staff turnover, I volunteered to buddy new care assistants, focusing on resident nuances rather than just paperwork. I also made a point of thanking colleagues after difficult shifts to build morale. Two of the four people I mentored are still with the team; a positive culture is built by making staff feel supported on their hardest days.”
6. A resident is becoming frustrated because they cannot complete a simple task. How do you respond?
How to answer: Emphasise patience and the promotion of independence. Explain how you provide “minimum assistance” to help them succeed without taking over the task entirely.
For example:
“I remain calm and offer encouragement, breaking the task into smaller steps rather than taking over. If they remain distressed, I suggest a short break and revisit it later to avoid a sense of failure. My priority is to protect their independence and dignity, ensuring they feel capable rather than rushed.”
7. Describe a time when you went out of your way to make someone feel safe and cared for.
How to answer: Highlight empathy and emotional support. Describe a moment when you used your initiative to provide comfort that went beyond the basic requirements of your job.
For example:
“A resident with dementia often became distressed in the evenings, searching for her late husband. Instead of correcting her, I sat with her, held her hand, and listened to her stories, often staying past my shift until she felt secure. This compassion meant she settled much more easily at night; I aim to provide the same level of care I would want for my own family.”
Many professional career services and consultancy agencies can help you prepare for such interviews with one-on-one support.
Conclusion
Values based recruitment is one of the most widely adopted approaches to building an environment of trust and shared purpose in the workplace. Organisations can minimise turnover and increase service quality by viewing their staff members through the lens of their motivation, rather than their technical competence. It is an opportunity for candidates to show their character and to secure a position in which their personal ethics and professional responsibilities are perfectly aligned.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is values based recruitment important?
Values based recruitment directly impacts long-term organisational stability by offering the following benefits:
- Saves on recruitment expenses: Identifies poor cultural fits early, before the cost of a wrong hire is incurred.
- Protects brand reputation: Reduces the risk of hiring people whose behaviour conflicts with the organisation’s stated standards.
- Improves team productivity: Reduces conflict and internal friction among team members due to shared behavioural norms.
- Enhances customer satisfaction: Makes it a natural part of frontline staff’s attitude to treat clients or patients with the empathy the organisation promises.
- Increases employee engagement: Links work to a broader cause, which can encourage discretionary effort.
- Enables succession planning: Builds a leadership pipeline of people who already embody the organisation’s identity.
How do you demonstrate values in an interview?
In an interview, the key is to cite behavioural evidence for your core values — examples that show you have acted on them, not just held them. Interviewers are on the lookout for actions that demonstrate that you align with their organisation.
What is the STAR method for values based interviews?
The STAR method is a structured approach to answering behavioural questions that consists of four stages: Situation, Task, Action, and Result. During a VBI, candidates apply this approach to give tangible evidence that their personal values and behaviours match the company’s values.
What software solutions support values based recruitment for UK businesses?
Commonly used platforms for value based recruitment in the UK are ThriveMap, TestGorilla, and Clevry. These often offer features like:
- Customised job simulations
- Psychometric testing
- Situational judgement tests
This helps the hiring manager score a candidate’s behavioural alignment with company ethics efficiently.
What are the best consultancy services for implementing values based recruitment strategies?
Examples of UK organisations that support values based recruitment include:
- VBA Consulting delivers values based recruitment training and resources, with a background in the NHS, social care and the charity sector.
- Skills for Care, the national workforce development body for adult social care in England, publishes a free values based recruitment toolkit for care providers.
- DiSRUPT, a B Corp certified UK recruitment agency, builds values and ethical criteria into the hiring processes it runs for clients.
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