While I agree with the sentiment, this isn't entirely true:
> A false negative has zero cost (and zero benefit).
False negatives means that your hiring process is longer, more difficult, more costly, and you therefore find it harder to grow, or to replace people who leave.
It may well be that avoiding false positives in general is better for the business, but it's not as clear cut as you make out I believe, it's a balance.
> False negatives means that your hiring process is longer, more difficult, more costly, and you therefore find it harder to grow, or to replace people who leave.
Exactly! If a couple of people on my team of six leave and they can’t be replaced for 6-12 months then I’m going to quit as well.
There will be more pressure on the remaining team to produce and most of the interesting long term work will be put on hold.
> A false negative has zero cost (and zero benefit).
False negatives means that your hiring process is longer, more difficult, more costly, and you therefore find it harder to grow, or to replace people who leave.
It may well be that avoiding false positives in general is better for the business, but it's not as clear cut as you make out I believe, it's a balance.