Why a Behaviour-First Train to Deploy Strategy Builds Stronger Workforces
Most failed hires don’t fail due to missing skills, they fail due to poor fit. In critical sectors, the right Train to Deploy strategy reduces that risk and builds stronger teams.
This insight draws on our Confessions of a Train to Deploy Expert series, where Dan Crerand, Rullion’s Train to Deploy Director, sits down with Sibel Akel, Rullion’s Marketing Director, to explore why behaviour-first hiring unlocks overlooked talent, strengthens diversity, and builds long-term workforce resilience.
In episode two of Confessions of a Train to Deploy Expert, Rullion’s Dan Crerand (Train to Deploy Director) and Sibel Akel (Marketing Director) discuss why so many “failed hires” aren’t down to missing skills, but to poor behavioural and cultural fit. Drawing on Dan’s experience delivering Train to Deploy programmes in critical infrastructure, they explore how a behaviour-first approach helps employers uncover overlooked talent and build stronger, more diverse teams.
Rullion is a workforce solutions provider specialising in regulated and technical sectors across the UK and Europe, helping organisations shift from reactive hiring to long-term workforce strategies. Through solutions like Train to Deploy (TTD), we help organisations move from reactive hiring to long-term workforce strategies, creating talent pipelines built around real roles and values.
Why Behaviour-First Train to Deploy Programmes Matter Now
Critical infrastructure organisations face workforce challenges that aren’t going away. Skills shortages are structural, not temporary. An ageing workforce, declining enrolment in vocational pathways, and rising demand for regulated technical skills are all putting delivery at risk.
That’s why many employers are exploring Train to Deploy strategies. Unlike generic Hire Train Deploy or Recruit Train Deploy models offered by other suppliers, Rullion’s approach flips the order: behaviours and values first, technical skills second.
As Dan Crerand explains:
“Job specs are often shopping lists of everything a hiring manager could dream of. You’re asking for unicorns, and excluding great people. Start small. Change one role, one spec. Prove it works. Success stories travel fast inside organisations.”
The Talent That Gets Missed
Traditional recruitment often screens out the very people who could thrive in technical roles. Ex-athletes with years of discipline, parents returning to work with resilience and adaptability, people with disabilities who bring determination, or early-career candidates with creativity and drive - all too often overlooked.
Dan traces his philosophy back to a decade:
“I started working with underrepresented groups and saw so much potential being missed. I wanted to help clients grow their own talent. That’s where it all started.”
These individuals may lack the “perfect CV” or polish in interviews, but they bring the resilience, adaptability, and learning agility that underpin long-term success. Traditional recruitment screens them out. A behaviour-first Train to Deploy strategy screens them in.
Why Behaviour Matters More Than Skills
Research shows that 46% of new hires fail within 18 months, and almost 90% of those failures are due to poor behavioural or cultural fit - not technical skills.
For critical infrastructure organisations, that failure rate means wasted time, repeated recruitment cycles, and delivery risks that quickly escalate into cost overruns.
Dan’s work with athletes illustrates the point: people who had been waking at 5am for years to train displayed discipline, timekeeping, and resilience far beyond what a CV could show. Without behaviour-first hiring, this potential would remain hidden.
“I spoke to people who had been getting up at 5am for 15 years to train. Their discipline, resilience, and timekeeping were outstanding. But how does an ex-gymnast or high jumper showcase that in a CV? They’re just another name in an applicant tracking system. Recruiters can’t see it, and the industry loses out.”
Behaviour-first hiring brings that hidden potential into view.
Inside Rullion’s Behaviour-First Train to Deploy Strategy
Rullion’s Train to Deploy solution reverses the order. Train to Deploy isn’t a one-size-fits-all bootcamp. Unlike traditional hire-train-deploy providers, it’s built around your roles and your culture. Our TTD services assess behaviours first, then design training pathways for the exact technical and regulatory skills you need.
The model includes:
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Behaviour-led screening via psychometrics and structured interviews
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Mutual selection, where candidates and organisations evaluate each other
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Tailored training aligned to your technical and regulatory needs
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Inclusive pipelines that bring in returners, early-career talent, and people from non-traditional backgrounds
Benefits for Employers
Unlike generic Hire Train Deploy or Recruit Train Deploy models, Rullion’s Train to Deploy programmes are built around role-specific needs. Our TTD services go beyond training, they’re about long-term outcomes. As one of the UK’s leading Train to Deploy suppliers, we help organisations reduce churn, scale delivery, and meet compliance requirements in critical environments.
With Train to Deploy, organisations gain:
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Faster deployment into critical roles
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Lower hiring risk through behaviour-first selection
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Inclusive, diverse talent pipelines
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Improved retention and long-term capability uplift
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Commercial flexibility vs contingent labour
Stronger Teams Through Diversity
Behaviour-first hiring doesn’t just fill vacancies, it reshapes teams. One digital services client initially resisted hiring non-traditional candidates, but after a trial, saw improved creativity and performance across the team.
Another leader deliberately brought in behaviour-first candidates every year to diversify his workforce. Over time, he noticed “reverse mentoring” emerge; juniors energising seniors, while seniors passed down knowledge in return. The whole team became stronger.
That’s the multiplier effect of Train to Deploy.
From Overlooked Potential to Future Workforce
Under pressure, it’s tempting to hire quickly for technical capability alone. But short-term fixes rarely last. Hiring someone misaligned to your organisation’s values often means revisiting the same role within months.
Dan recalls introducing behaviour-first hiring in the digital sector. Some leaders doubted whether candidates from non-traditional backgrounds could perform. But after one trial, the client saw how a candidate with resilience and drive could rapidly add value once trained. It marked the start of a mindset shift: skills can be trained, behaviours cannot.
Why Not In-House?
Some employers ask if they could replicate this internally. The reality? Most HR and L&D teams don’t have the capacity to design behaviour-first assessments, manage external training providers, and deliver wellbeing support at scale.
Rullion carries that load, while clients stay in control of outcomes. This allows internal teams to focus on delivery while gaining faster deployment, better retention, and long-term workforce stability.
Choosing the Right Train to Deploy Supplier
Behaviour-first hiring isn’t a quick fix. It’s a long-term workforce strategy that helps organisations unlock overlooked talent, strengthen diversity, and build resilience.
If you missed the first part of this series, read Why Traditional Hiring Fails Technical Roles. You may also find The ROI of Train to Deploy and Building Skills, Not Buying Them valuable.
To explore how a Train to Deploy strategy could transform your workforce, visit our Train to Deploy page or download the free Train to Deploy Toolkit - a resource designed to help employers compare different Train to Deploy suppliers and understand the full benefits of behaviour-first hiring.
The Toolkit supports HR, Procurement, and Leadership teams in comparing Train and Deploy solutions, assessing Train to Deploy suppliers, and understanding the ROI of a behaviour-first approach. It includes:
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Diagnostics for ageing workforces, rehiring cycles, and persistent skills gaps
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Business case templates and checklists to help secure stakeholder buy-in
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Cost comparisons with contingent labour and traditional hiring models
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Guidance on aligning workforce strategy with ESG, DEI, and resilience goals
It’s free to download and ready to take straight into boardroom discussions.
This blog is part of our “Confessions of a Train to Deploy Expert” series, capturing conversations between Dan Crerand and Sibel Akel on what’s broken in hiring and how organisations are solving it differently.
Watch the full interview here.
