How We Are Shaping the Future of Hiring at Delivery Hero

At Delivery Hero, we’re not just about building teams, we’re building exceptional ones! The Bar Raiser Program is one of the key ways to ensure we continue to hire and develop the best. 

Let’s take a closer look at the program, why it matters, and how we recently celebrated the incredible people who make it all possible.

What is a Bar Raiser?

A Bar Raiser is a specially selected, highly experienced interviewer, who has consistently demonstrated excellent interviewing practices. But being a Bar Raiser isn’t just about seniority and experience, it’s about setting and upholding ambitious hiring standards.

Unlike other interviews that focus on hard skills, Bar Raiser interviews are designed to assess the harder to teach qualities:

• Growth potential
• Pragmatic problem-solving
• Collaboration and long-term impact

Reaching the Bar Raiser interview stage looks beyond the immediate role. Instead, this stage  focuses on identifying candidates who can grow, contribute meaningfully to the company over the longer term, and raise the bar for our teams and our culture.

The Bar Raiser role comes with real responsibility: members of the program are not incentivized to hire,  their honest, objective feedback is used to help ensure we hire the right people, for the right reasons.

Why Do We Have the Bar Raiser Program?

In a fast-moving tech environment, it can be tempting to focus on hiring quickly. But speed should never come at the cost of quality.

The Bar Raiser Program exists to hold us accountable and ensures that we maintain high and consistent hiring standards across the organization. It ensures our interviews are consistent, inclusive, and focused on finding candidates who will thrive at Delivery Hero.

Celebrating Our Bar Raisers 

During our recent Bar Raiser recognition event, we came together to celebrate the incredible contributions of the Bar Raiser community at Delivery Hero. It was more than just a moment of recognition; it was a chance to reflect, learn, and discuss the future of the program.

The event featured a lively panel discussion, expertly hosted by Pedro Escudero Zumel, Senior Director of Software Engineering, with helpful tips as food for thought from Mario Kristo, VP of Engineering, Ben Mann, CTO, Elena Kovalenko, Principal Software Engineer, Inna Skochko, Director of Talent Acquisition, and Tuna Vargi, Director of Software Engineering.

Throughout the conversation, the panelists shared practical advice on what makes a great Bar Raiser, how to spot growth potential, and how to conduct fair, meaningful interviews that truly reflect Delivery Hero’s hiring standards.

Inna opened the discussion by emphasizing the importance of curiosity as a core Bar Raiser skill: "You need to be genuinely interested in the person you’re interviewing, not just in how you’re coming across as an interviewer. Focus on their story, their growth, their mindset."

Building on this idea, Tuna shared a memorable story about uncovering potential beyond what’s on a CV: "Sometimes, a candidate applies for a junior role, but through deeper conversations, we realize they are ready for more. It’s about asking the right questions and seeing the bigger picture."

Mario reminded us why the Bar Raiser Program exists in the first place: "The most important thing is to understand what Delivery Hero is looking for and uncompromisingly hold the bar."

But raising the bar isn’t just about high standards, it’s also about creating an excellent candidate experience.

Ben highlighted the power of empathy in interviews: "For candidates, interviews are incredibly stressful. Taking just a minute to help them feel comfortable can completely change the dynamic and allow their true potential to come through."

Adding another layer to the discussion, Elena stressed the importance of asking the right questions to go beyond polished answers: "We need to probe for meaningful experiences, not just rehearsed answers. It’s about finding people who have genuinely lived through situations that matter, not just those who sound convincing."

Together, the panelists painted a powerful picture of what it means to be a Bar Raiser: someone who balances high standards with deep curiosity, someone who is committed to fairness, and someone who sees potential where others might not look.

Recognition Matters

During the event, the team also took time to celebrate individual contributions, and special recognition was given to those who conducted the most Bar Raiser interviews.

Throughout the past year, we’ve worked hard to strengthen the Bar Raiser Program:

• Launched new onboarding for incoming Bar Raisers
• Delivered updated training sessions
• Created clearer guidelines and best practices
• Developed more focused reading materials to sharpen skills and consistency

As Inna summed up perfectly: "I’m grateful we have this program. Listening to our Bar Raisers has made us better."

At Delivery Hero, we’re not just hiring for now, we’re hiring for what’s next. Thanks to our Bar Raisers, we are building teams that we are proud of-  teams that truly raise the bar!