The HireSmart Certification Process: Built to Eliminate Guesswork 

Most hiring processes answer the wrong question. They waste your time with impressive interviews. They focus on “Can this person convince me they’re qualified?” The better question is: “Can this person actually do the work?” The result is that business owners end up with employees who excel at interviews but struggle with execution. 

Here’s what makes this problem even worse: 44% of Americans admit to lying during the hiring process, according to a 2025 ResumeBuilder survey of 2,000 U.S. job seekers. Think about that for a moment. Nearly half of all candidates are deliberately misleading you about their qualifications, experience, or abilities. Yet most hiring processes rely entirely on what candidates tell you about themselves. 

After building multiple successful businesses over two decades, my husband Mark and I knew there had to be a better way. I needed to see beyond polished presentations and impressive resumes. I wanted to discover who someone really is when the work gets challenging. We’ve all experienced the disappointment of candidates who aced their interviews but couldn’t handle the actual job, or impressive resumes attached to people who disappeared after two weeks. 

With employers struggling to find candidates for open positions, the traditional hiring approach clearly isn’t working. Business owners need a system that reveals actual capabilities, not just interview performance. 

The challenge is that building the right workforce requires a strategic approach that goes far beyond traditional hiring methods. As I recently wrote in my Forbes piece about escaping entrepreneurial tunnel vision, getting fresh eyes on your business operations can reveal blind spots you never knew existed. The same principle applies to hiring.

The Birth of Our Certification Process 

Watching business owners deal with these hiring disappointments made me realize something crucial: being an effective matchmaker requires more than good instincts. You need a system that reveals who people really are under pressure. So I don’t want to just make introductions. I want to guarantee results by taking responsibility for every placement. 

That’s why I created our signature certification process. After we identify your perfect candidate through rigorous screening, they spend 40 hours with my team in what I call “the ultimate working interview.” We give them real tasks similar to what they’ll do for you. We present them with challenges and changing priorities. We watch how they communicate when confused, handle feedback, and respond when something goes wrong. Most importantly, we see if they embody our core values when nobody’s watching. 

This approach directly addresses the core challenge facing business owners: how do you identify genuine talent when so many candidates are being dishonest? Rather than hoping someone will perform well, we prove they can deliver before they ever touch your systems. 

Many business owners struggle with staff retention and training investment drain. Our certification process tackles this head-on by ensuring candidates can handle the work before placement. 

The Numbers Don’t Lie 

Approximately 12% don’t complete certification. They looked great in interviews and had impressive references, but when faced with actual work, troubles came to light. Perhaps they couldn’t handle constructive criticism. Maybe they struggled with time management. Or they simply lacked the necessary work ethic to succeed. If a candidate doesn’t prove themselves in our certification process, you never waste time training someone who can’t perform, and you avoid the frustration of hoping someone will improve when they clearly won’t. 

The candidates who do make it through are battle-tested. They’ve proven they can deliver quality work under pressure. They communicate effectively. They adapt to new challenges. That’s why we maintain a 98% successful placement rate. Our certification process becomes even more valuable when you consider the epidemic of hiring dishonesty. We’re eliminating the guesswork that leads to hiring mistakes by requiring candidates to prove their abilities through actual work. 

The Investment in Excellence 

This certification process is expensive. I employ a team of professionals whose sole job is evaluating and training candidates, but that front-end work and expense is so worth it. 

I’ve learned from running businesses for over two decades that there are no shortcuts to quality. You either do the work upfront or pay for it later in the form of failed placements, unhappy clients, and damaged reputations. We take time to ensure each hire succeeds. This approach costs us money in the short term but creates long-term relationships with clients who trust us implicitly. 

As one client said: “When I met with Anne and I told her about my experience, what was different about HireSmart for me was that I felt like they put our needs first a little more, so she was like, ‘What are you looking for, what do you need?’ And then I loved that my assistants have to work for you guys first for a whole week and pass, and I also love that Anne is going to be exposing them to a little bit of what they’re going to be doing for us initially. I felt like that was really good.” 

This investment approach stands in stark contrast to the industry trend where many talent acquisition teams face unmanageable workloads. By investing heavily in our certification process, we ensure quality while reducing the burden on your internal team. 

Why This Matters to Your Business 

Think about your last hiring disaster and how much it cost you in time, money, and stress. Now imagine hiring someone who has already proven they can do the work. Someone who has been challenged, tested, and certified by professionals whose reputations depend on their success. 

When you hire someone through HireSmart, you’re not just getting an employee. You’re getting someone who’s been personally vetted by me and my team. Someone who’s demonstrated they can handle your specific challenges. Someone committed to our core values of service, availability, and excellence. They’ve already shown they can deliver what you need because they’ve done it for us. 

This matters because hiring the wrong person is expensive, and that’s before considering the hidden costs of training, onboarding, and potential replacement if the hire doesn’t work out. Our certification process eliminates these risks by ensuring candidates can perform before they join your team. 

People sometimes ask why our process takes longer than other agencies. The answer is simple: quality takes time, and excellence requires effort. There are no shortcuts to building trust, and trust is a fundamental requirement for every successful business relationship. 

The HireSmart Difference 

That’s my promise to you: no shortcuts, no compromises, and no excuses. We provide thoroughly vetted, battle-tested professionals who are ready to help your business succeed from day one. 

We understand the challenges you face because we’ve helped business owners for over a decade with our proven approach. 

Too many business owners find themselves dealing with candidates who ghost them during the hiring process. Our certification process eliminates this frustration by working only with committed professionals who have already demonstrated their dedication through 40 hours of intensive training. 

“Every single HireSmart team member I’ve come into contact with has been so lovely, professional, quick to respond, and they do a really great job partnering the VE with our company, and all the training that goes in between,” said one client. “From every conversation I’ve had with my VEs, their experiences have also been super positive.” 

While nearly half of all candidates are being dishonest during the hiring process, our certification process creates transparency and accountability that benefits everyone involved. When someone spends 40 hours proving their capabilities with us, there’s no room for deception. 

The reality is that most business owners struggle with finding reliable staff who will stick around and contribute meaningfully to their success. Our certification process directly addresses this challenge by ensuring candidates have both the skills and commitment needed for long-term success. 

Ready to experience the difference proper vetting makes? Click here to schedule a free consultation. Our certification process is about more than finding someone to fill a role. It’s about finding people who will excel at it while supporting your business goals for years to come. 

About the Author 

Anne Lackey is the Co-Founder and CEO of HireSmart Virtual Employees, where she helps businesses scale with full-time, highly trained remote staff. With decades of experience in business operations and systems, Anne is a recognized expert in virtual staffing, process efficiency, and team building.