Is Human Design a Good Tool for Hiring? One Former HR Pro Shares the Risks

When it comes to self-discovery and scaling your business, I felt like stumbling upon Human Design was like discovering a hidden treasure chest. It was as if my intuition found its validation and I was immediately hooked.

This concept not only breathed clarity into my business, but also ignited a journey of personal growth. It allowed me to narrow my focus and follow through on my creative ideas in a way that had felt so illusive before.

Finally, a world where introspection meets entrepreneurship, where something as accessible as a free Human Design chart can serve as a blueprint to navigate the complexity of wanting to achieve your goals, but with purpose, and impact (yes, please!).

Not only did this work for me, but I shared my insights with my clients and they started finding the same clarity and magnetic energy I was experiencing too.

BUT… as I scoured the internet watching every video and researching everything about Human Design I could get my hands on, I started to hear people talk about hiring by design.

It made sense. Entrepreneurs were finding their own success by understanding their soul’s signature energy, so naturally, they wanted to match their Human Design chart with that of their job candidate’s chart to make their hiring decisions.

As a former Human Resources professional, even though I love Human Design, immediately alarm bells went off for me!

What is Human Design?

Human Design is a relatively modern system of self-discovery that combines astrology, the I Ching, the Kabbalah, and the Chakra system, among other ancient wisdom traditions, with modern science and technology.

Ra Uru Hu is said to have channeled Human Design in 1987 on the island of Ibiza and it has been growing in popularity significantly over the past several years. More and more entrepreneurs and small business owners are using the information in their Human Design Body Graphs to catapult the results in their businesses.

It is based on the idea that each person is born with a unique energetic blueprint that determines their personality, their strengths and weaknesses, and their life path. It is meant to help you rely on your inner authority instead of information from others. It is your inner compass when it comes to decision making, giving you the information you can trust the most.

Why it’s tempting to hire by matching your Human Design chart to that of your candidate’s chart.

The reason so many people are drawn to using Human Design in their hiring processes is because there’s the theory that certain people complete your open channels.

We all have parts of our charts (body graphs) that are considered “open” or “undefined”. These open energy centers, often benefit from being around someone who has a closed center.

(That doesn’t mean it has to be a co-worker or employee, though. You can be in public spaces and find this energy satisfied.)

But the premise that’s gaining popularity is if someone completes the places in your chart that are not colored in, you will have the ability to get results and be in your genius more easily. More specifically, if they complete your open channels (energy centers), together you will be unstoppable!

So why would I say not to use such a powerful tool? I’ll explain it.

The risk of using human design in your hiring practices (and it’s a big one).

First of all, though it’s been a decade since I’ve been professionally staffing in a corporate office, I am sure that “Adverse Impact” is of no less importance than it used to be.

If you are so focused on someone’s Human Design chart, you risk overlooking a diverse selection of people for your business needs and might not consider a wide enough talent pool when selecting candidates.

Hiring bias is a real thing. You already need to keep in mind that not everyone interviews well, has the fanciest resume, or that sometimes one gender over the other is better at negotiating salary and subsequently often gets paid higher (see: The Glass Ceiling, Is it a Myth?). To also look at someone’s Human Design chart and make decisions based on that for your hiring has the potential to create quite a bit of group think and hiring bias, potentially adversely impacting specific cultures and races.

To put it bluntly, what if all the “generators” that apply are white? And you weed out all the “projectors” who apply who are not white?

Do you see the problem?

Back when I was working in HR, we used a personality test in reviewing our candidates. But we were trained on how to recognize that people aren’t their test. It was meant to be a tool to help a manager be able to manage their employee’s strengths and weaknesses and we were cautioned against using it as the basis for the hiring decision. (see: Beware The Legal Risks Of Personality Tests In Hiring

Human Design is even more risky because a personality test can change depending on your mood and growth over time, but Human Design is based on the time, date, and location of your birth – meaning you can’t change it!

So, if people start deciding that “generators” get more work done, or manifesting generators make the best strategic managers – that can create all kinds of problems down the road.

But it’s about more than just being inclusive in your hiring practices and WANTING different perspectives and points of view for your business so you can connect to the widest variety of people possible.

Your chart doesn’t mean that is how you operate. Most people are blissfully unaware of their human design and subsequent shadows and conditioning at play.

This is about ASSUMING that what you see on paper for someone’s Human Design body graph is who they are.

It’s not predetermined that they’re somehow STUCK with their chart qualities!

Your chart isn’t an accurate representation of how you work.

This is a HUGE factor that people are forgetting when it comes to using Human Design in your hiring practices.

Someone who has been evolving in their career has learned to overcome – or “decondition” – their open centers – even if they’ve never heard of Human Design.

For example, I have an open root center in my Human Design chart. For me, this has presented in life as feelings of “not enough money” or feeling unstable (see: How to say Goodbye to Waiting-for-the-Other-Shoe-to-Drop Syndrome). I feel best with a healthy savings account and plenty of money to pay the rent. (I also have the Accumulator Archetype in Denise Duffield-Thomas’s quiz.)

I don’t like to take huge financial risks because I like to have those safety and security feelings so that I can take big risks elsewhere – like in my business or travel adventures.

Because I’ve been career-driven and awakening for many years, I’ve learned how to decondition and support this open root center.

I know how to create feelings of safety and security, like cuddling with a cozy blanket or gratitude practices, so that it doesn’t interfere with my ability to be an entrepreneur.

In fact, this is what I often help clients with so they can pursue their life’s work without getting derailed by an open root center.

Human Design is to help you thrive, not put you in a box!

Risky Messages Are Being Shared

I’ve heard one of the louder voices out there who is using Human Design in her business saying her Human Design type is a Projector and when she fired all the Projectors on her team, her business thrived.

She felt they didn’t get anything done because they didn’t have a Generator (the Human Design type who is said to naturally have the energy and stamina to finish projects) on the team.

Again, alarm bells went off for me because if you simplify your business in this way and start firing, or hiring, people based on their Human Design body graph, I’m sure you are a lawsuit waiting to happen.

It also clues me in that you don’t know how to manage a team!

And more importantly, you are missing the point!

Projectors are designed to work in spurts. That doesn’t mean they won’t get things done. They may come up with a genius idea that your business needs but the whole team may benefit from a Virtual Assistant to outsource some of the detailed, implementation work too.

That person who fired her “projector” team may have done so after they helped her build the entire business model and she captured all their great ideas! They may have helped with the creativity and the vision of her business, but she just didn’t know how to balance the energies to get the work done.

Just saying.

In any case, I’ve heard people say they won’t hire a “Manifesting Generator” or a “Projector”, or they spend time looking for the Holy Grail of people who complete the exact channel they need to complete their open channels and I say “Good luck with that!”

I think the universe puts your team together if you are in tune with your intuition, anyway.

It’s YOUR responsibility to get good at hiring and learn how to ask questions that allow you to understand how your prospective employee operates.

And you’re better off with small assignments in the beginning in a freelance capacity (if you’re an entrepreneur) rather than hiring “By Design”.

Because even if someone has the body graph you love, it doesn’t mean they are living in line with their human design. That’s like saying every Astrology sign lives completely in line with their birth sign.

It’s so much more complex than that!

Human Design is complex

One of the other things that really concerns me about hiring by design is that Human Design, and its counterpart, The Gene Keys, is very complex!

Having people who deeply understand how to apply this to the workforce without bias is going to be a challenge at this stage of its evolution.

If you simply look at a chart, but you are not sharing that information with your candidates or employees, it’s not the experiment it’s designed to be.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I began using Human Design and information from the Gene Keys with my Copywriting clients and as a digital product to help people DIY their magnetic copy. The reason this worked is because they received the information, but were free to use it as a tool in their own lives.

I did not tell them how to use it, I simply shared what I saw in their chart and how they may consider their energy to be the most empowering.

Off they went to experiment with it and see if they felt more aligned and had more clarity when they applied their chart.

But I ALWAYS caution that if your intuition says something else – always follow your intuition first.

We’re here to grow and evolve and you will find the resources and tools as you need them.

It’s also closed-minded of a business owner to presume they know what each Human Design type brings to the table – and assume it’s only that.

Human Design is a much better idea to use post-hiring, like how the personality tests I mentioned were applied, as a way to help your employees thrive.

Post-Hiring Human Design

Once you’ve found your employee, or freelancer, if you have a good understanding of Human Design, that is where I recommend using his or her chart to help the two of you thrive on your team.

Back in my HR days, we used to say “Get the right person on the bus and in the right seat” (yes, it’s a Good to Great reference).

We focused on hiring “A” Players (high achievers), and then figuring out his/her strengths, so we could create the most dynamic and high-performing teams.

And it worked! The end result was less turnover, fewer employee relations problems, a better work environment, and more job satisfaction.

Human Design would be a great tool to help your workers thrive once hired instead of weed them out because of preconceived notions. Unless you are so skilled you can develop questions to determine if they have deconditioned areas in their chart – it just has too much risk at the moment.

Bottom line.

At this time hiring by Human Design creates more potential for harm than it does for good.

You just can’t assume everyone is living in line with their Human Design body graph and it would take such an immense understanding of a very complex system to create that kind of matchmaking.

You just don’t know which shadows and areas someone has already deconditioned! You also can’t assume a chart accurately depicts their work ethic and skills. Maybe they’re a Generator but they hate their career choice and rarely show up, for example.

And you also don’t want to hire only a specific race unintentionally because you weren’t mindful in your hiring practices to be inclusive of ALL candidates and cast a wide net.

So, while I love Human Design and The Gene Keys, and can talk about it all day every day, I don’t recommend using it in your hiring practices because there are too many assumptions involved if you have not been fully trained and living in your experiment for a long time.

And even then, to tell a highly qualified candidate “Shoot. You’re totally qualified and have the experience but you’re not a Manifesting Generator and I really want only that because they’re better at strategy,” seems wrong. You’re not giving them a chance because of the day they were born? That just doesn’t make sense.

You also can’t be sure they’ve learned how to embrace their design, even if they are the specific gem you think you’ve found.

The good news is that as more and more people learn to embrace their design, they will be applying to jobs where they can thrive. As individuals, the more we understand ourselves, the more we know what we’re great at and the less the employer has to try to figure it out.

In the meantime, that’s where you’re mindful interviewing questions come in, right?

I’d love to hear from you! Let me know how you are using Human Design in your business and if you’ve been thinking about applying it to your hiring processes. How are you making sure to be inclusive if that’s the case?

XoXo,