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The adaptability crisis
Why adaptability is the most critical trait for modern workplaces (and hardest to identify)
The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. Companies that thrived were those with adaptable teams who could pivot quickly. Those that struggled often had technically skilled employees who couldn't handle change.
Today's business environment moves faster than ever. Technology shifts monthly. Market conditions change overnight. Remote work demands new skills. The employees who succeed aren't just those who can do the job today, but those who can evolve with it tomorrow.
The cost of getting this wrong: Research shows that employees who struggle with adaptability are 70% more likely to become performance problems when faced with organisational change. In fast-moving sectors, lack of adaptability can derail entire projects.
So how do you identify truly adaptable candidates? Most hiring managers turn to interview questions, asking candidates to describe times they handled change or stepped outside their comfort zone.
Here's the fundamental issue: The candidates who are best at talking about adaptability in interviews often aren't the most adaptable in practice.
The interview illusion
Why interview questions fail to identify adaptable candidates
Think about what real adaptability looks like. It's staying calm when priorities suddenly shift. Learning new systems without extensive training. Collaborating effectively with people who work differently than you do. These are instinctive, behavioural responses that happen under pressure.
Interviews measure something completely different: How well someone can craft and deliver stories about past adaptability.
Three critical flaws with interview-based adaptability assessment:
1. The storytelling bias: Confident communicators will always sound more adaptable, regardless of their actual flexibility. Meanwhile, genuinely adaptable introverts may struggle to articulate their experiences convincingly.
2. The preparation problem: Any candidate with basic interview prep can describe a time they "adapted to change" or "learned something new." These prepared answers tell you nothing about real-world adaptability.
3. The comfort zone paradox: The interview itself is a structured, predictable environment. You're trying to measure adaptability in the least adaptive setting possible.
Research backs this up. Studies show little correlation between interview answers about adaptability and actual workplace flexibility when faced with unexpected challenges.
Even more concerning, this approach systematically favours candidates who are socially skilled over those who are genuinely adaptable but less articulate about their experiences.
The result? You end up hiring people who can talk about change but struggle when it actually happens.
For teams still using interviews
5 adaptability interview questions (use with extreme caution)
If you're not ready to implement behavioural assessments yet, here are five interview questions that can provide some insight into adaptability. But remember the limitations we discussed - these questions only tell you how well someone can talk about adaptability, not how they'll actually behave when change happens.
Video summary: Ben Schwencke, our lead consultant, explains why adaptability is worth measuring and shares insights on these interview questions.
Critical reminder: Even perfect answers to these questions only indicate interview performance, not workplace adaptability. The most compelling stories can come from the least adaptable candidates.
"Tell me about a time when you had to adapt to a significant change at work that you didn't see coming."
What you're looking for: Specific examples of staying productive during unexpected change, evidence of creative problem-solving, and genuine reflection on what they learned from the experience.
Red flags: Vague or generic examples, focus on complaining about the change rather than their response, or inability to articulate specific actions they took to adapt.
- 1. What was your immediate reaction when you learned about this change?
- 2. What specific steps did you take to adapt your work approach?
- 3. How did you help others around you cope with the change?
"Describe a situation where feedback or new information forced you to completely change your approach to a project."
What you're looking for: Openness to feedback without defensiveness, willingness to abandon previous work when necessary, and ability to quickly implement new approaches.
- 1. How did you initially react to this feedback?
- 2. What was the most challenging part of changing your approach?
- 3. How did the final outcome compare to your original plan?
"Tell me about a time when you had to do something completely outside your expertise or comfort zone."
What you're looking for: Willingness to take on unfamiliar challenges, resourcefulness in learning new skills, and resilience when facing initial difficulties.
- 1. How did you approach learning something completely new?
- 2. What was your biggest struggle and how did you overcome it?
- 3. What would you do differently if faced with a similar challenge?
"Describe a time when competing priorities forced you to completely reorganise your work approach."
What you're looking for: Strategic thinking about priority management, ability to make tough decisions under pressure, and flexibility in work organisation.
- 1. How did you decide what to prioritise when everything seemed urgent?
- 2. What systems or approaches did you use to stay organised during this period?
- 3. How did you communicate these changes to stakeholders or team members?
"Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone whose style was completely different from yours."
What you're looking for: Evidence of flexibility in communication styles, willingness to adjust their approach for effective collaboration, and learning from diverse perspectives.
- 1. What specific differences did you notice in their working style?
- 2. How did you adjust your communication approach to work effectively with them?
- 3. What did you learn from working with someone so different from yourself?
Final reminder: Even stellar answers to all these questions only demonstrate interview skill, not workplace adaptability. Use these questions as one data point, never as your primary assessment method.
The reliable solution
What actually works for measuring adaptability (and how to get started)
Here's the uncomfortable truth: There's a far more accurate way to measure adaptability than hoping candidates give you honest, revealing answers in interviews.
Behavioural assessments measure adaptability as a core personality trait, not a story someone can rehearse. Well-designed adaptability assessments evaluate:
- Cognitive flexibility: How quickly do they adjust their thinking when situations change?
- Tolerance for ambiguity: Are they comfortable operating without complete information?
- Learning orientation: Do they genuinely seek out new experiences and challenges?
- Stress resilience: How do they maintain effectiveness when facing uncertainty?
The assessment advantage: These tools measure inherent behavioural patterns that candidates can't easily fake, giving you reliable data about how someone will actually respond to change, not how well they can talk about past experiences.
Real-world validation speaks volumes. Companies using adaptability assessments report 60% fewer performance issues during organisational changes and significantly higher employee retention rates during periods of transformation.
The most effective approach combines both:
- Assessments first: Screen for genuine adaptability traits early in your process
- Interviews second: Use targeted questions to explore how adaptable candidates might fit your specific culture and challenges
This way, you're interviewing candidates you already know have the right adaptability foundation, and you can focus your conversation time on role-specific flexibility and cultural alignment.
How to start measuring adaptability accurately:
- Implement adaptability assessments: Use scientifically validated behavioural tools that measure genuine flexibility traits, not just what candidates can articulate about past experiences.
- Screen early in your process: Deploy assessments before interviews to ensure you're only spending time with candidates who demonstrate real adaptability patterns.
- Use interviews strategically: Focus your conversation time on role-specific challenges and cultural fit with candidates who've already proven their adaptability through assessment data.
The outcome: You'll identify genuinely adaptable candidates faster and more reliably, while protecting your organisation from the disruption of hiring inflexible employees who interview well.
Our adaptability assessments measure the specific behavioural patterns that predict workplace flexibility. They're designed by business psychologists, validated against job performance data, and built to be candidate-friendly while providing you with reliable insights.
Ready to get started? Explore our behavioural assessments to see which tools are right for measuring adaptability in your candidates.
Or if you need help generating more effective interview questions while you evaluate assessment options, try our AI-powered interview questions generator for adaptability-focused questions.
