Can the panel agree on an order, if not on scores?
Asking a hiring panel to score a candidate 22 out of 35 invites an argument about the number rather than the candidate. Asking who was first, second and third on each criterion is a question people can actually answer, and it still produces a weighted ranking you can defend.
Words on this sheet
- Weighting: How much this item counts against the others.
Work Intermediate Weighted Scoring Pro engine
After you install, this is the model to open.
Rank the Candidates
- In your spreadsheet, click the Sortia icon in the strip of icons down the right-hand edge. No strip? Click the arrow at the bottom-right to open it. You can also use Extensions, then Sortia, then Open Sortia.
- Click Start from a template and put that name in the search box.
- Pick the card with that name and click Load this template. It arrives on a new tab with real numbers already in it.
This one runs on a Pro engine, and every free install includes five full-quality runs on your own numbers, shared across all five Pro engines rather than five for each. After that, Pro is $199/year.
The answer
Weighted rank totals, lowest first:
- Priya
- 1.75 leads
- Sam
- 2.00
- Alex
- 2.25
- Flips on
- 11 pts of comms
Priya leads at 1.75 against 2.00 and 2.25. The sensitivity table shows the decision turns on one weight: lift Communication from a quarter of the weight to a third (25% to 33.3%) and Sam takes the job. That is worth knowing before the offer goes out, because it tells you exactly which conversation the panel still needs to have.
The model
Weights are importance; scores are ranks where 1 is best. The lowest weighted total wins.
| Technical depth (35) | Priya 1 · Sam 2 · Alex 3 |
| Communication (25) | Priya 3 · Sam 1 · Alex 2 |
| Domain experience (25) | Priya 2 · Sam 3 · Alex 1 |
| Growth potential (15) | Priya 1 · Sam 2 · Alex 3 |
| Weighted ranks | lowest wins |
Once it is in your sheet
- The model arrives with real numbers in it and runs as it stands, so you can press the button first and understand it second.
- Change the numbers to yours. The sheet marks which cells are inputs and which hold formulas, and most labels carry a note explaining the row.
- Press the run button at the bottom of the panel. It is labeled for the tool you are in, and the result lands on its own tab, with a written reading of it beside the figures.
Never used Google Sheets? Start here goes the whole way, in seven steps, and assumes nothing.
Next question
- Does the plan need one person in two places?Agency Load: Who Is Overbooked?
- You are 43% done. When does the project actually finish?Will the Project Finish on Time?
- What should your day rate actually be?What Day Rate Does a Freelancer Need to Charge?
- Who should work on which project?Best-Fit Assignments
- What should you bid to win the job and still make money?Competitive Bid Optimizer
- What will this project actually cost at completion?Project Health Check (EVM)
Every model like this one, and the method behind them: Decision trees.