Inside MHP’s (a Porsche Company) “Bento Box”: A Real-World Example of Scaling Structured, Competency-Based Hiring
Tony de Graaf
Building High Performing TA teams | Author of the Recruiting Excellence Methodology | Transitioning TA teams into the world of AI
What happens when Talent Acquisition stops theorizing and starts operationalizing? You get real results—like the ones showcased by MHP – A Porsche Company at Schicht im Schacht , the DACH region’s most authentic and practitioner-led TA event. This is where recruiting professionals come together—not for slogans or vendor pitches—but to share what actually works in the field.
In one of the standout sessions, Diana Bruns (Director Talent Acquisition) and Shahriar Kamali (Head of Talent Acquisition) took the stage to present MHP’s internally developed Bento Box model—a structured framework built on competencies, clarity, and consistency.
Let’s explore what makes their approach so impactful.
MHP’s Bento Box Model: Competency-Based Clarity at Scale
As MHP continues its trajectory of rapid growth—from 5,000 to 10,000 employees—their Bento Box model offers a structured system to ensure hiring doesn't just scale, but does so with quality and consistency.
At the core of this model is a 24-competency framework that guides both selection criteria and interview structure. Each competency is linked to predefined interview questions, enabling hiring teams to assess candidates with clarity and fairness.
A key component of the process is a structured intake meeting, where recruiters and hiring managers collaboratively define which competencies are essential for the specific role. This upfront clarity helps ensure the interview process is focused, relevant, and aligned with success in the job.
The benefits are immediate and practical:
This isn’t theoretical. It’s executional excellence—and it’s rare.
Merit-Based Hiring in Practice
According to the Recruiting Excellence Methodology, Merit-Based Hiring means selecting candidates based on evidence of their ability to succeed in the role and grow within the organization. It relies on a three-part evaluation:
MHP’s Bento Box model delivers a strong and highly effective implementation of the Competency Fit dimension. By defining what great looks like across 24 competencies and linking those to structured questions, MHP provides hiring teams with the tools to make consistent, competency-driven decisions.
This puts them ahead of the curve—and sets a real-world benchmark for operationalizing structured hiring.
Building on a Strong Foundation: Expanding to Behavioral and Potential Fit
While MHP’s Bento Box already reflects a mature and scalable approach to competency-based hiring, there’s a clear path for evolution that could further amplify its impact—by incorporating the two remaining elements of the Merit-Based Hiring Framework.
1. Integrate Behavioral Fit Assessments
Adding structured behavioral interviewing—focused on how candidates have acted in past job-relevant situations—would allow the model to capture a richer view of how people work, not just what they know. This is essential for roles where mindset, collaboration, resilience, or decision-making under pressure are key.
2. Assess for Potential and Learning Agility
Beyond matching candidates to today’s requirements, hiring teams increasingly need to assess whether someone can grow with the business. Introducing techniques to evaluate learning ability, adaptability, and future-facing strengths ensures the hiring model is not just about fit—but also about future contribution.
3. Structure the Hiring Decision Meeting
Even with a structured interview process, many organizations still make final decisions in unstructured, informal conversations. This leaves the door open for subjectivity, recency bias, or overweighting feedback from more dominant voices in the room. By defining how hiring decisions are made—including how interviewer input is collected, scored, and synthesized—MHP could ensure that the rigor applied during interviews is carried through to the final choice.
A structured decision-making process doesn’t just improve fairness—it ensures that hiring decisions remain aligned with the predefined criteria, not influenced by emotion or hierarchy.
Conclusion: Real-World Leadership in Structured Hiring
What MHP has built with the Bento Box model is already a standout achievement. It brings real structure, fairness, and clarity to one of the most complex aspects of talent acquisition—and it’s being used at scale during a time of rapid growth.
If this example inspires you to bring more structure to your own hiring—whether by defining competencies, adding behavioral assessments, or improving decision-making—we invite you to explore our practical Merit-Based Hiring Framework. It’s designed to help organizations apply these principles in a way that fits their specific roles, teams, and business goals.
👉 Learn more about Merit-Based Hiring here or 📩 reach out to discuss how it could strengthen your hiring approach.