How to Build a Coaching Culture People Actually Want to Work In

Jenn Harrold's hiring model at NewDay USA runs on a bet most of the mortgage industry won't make: skip the résumé filter that rewards prior experience, and screen for coachability instead. "It is very difficult to undo years of experience or process, or even, quite frankly, mistake," says the company's SVP of Human Resources, on why NewDay would rather train someone from zero than untrain them from somewhere else.

She backs the bet with a monthly feedback cadence instead of annual reviews, and the results show up in the numbers: NewDay's intern pipeline has doubled twice in two years, with conversion rising right along with it. She also draws the line on where the model doesn't scale, and what happens when someone doesn't take to the coaching at all.