There is enormous excitement in my house today, because the grand final of The Great British Bake-Off is happening this very night!

My wife has watched every series, and after a cynical start I’ve grown to love it too. It’s surely the purest of competitions, with the judging being based solely on the contestants’ baking ability.

Or is it?

Of course not. This show isn’t just about baking; the human factor is an essential part of the mix. The charm of GBBO is partly (mainly?) down to the relationships that develop over time between the contestants, the judges, the presenters, and even the viewers.

A programme without these relationships would not be nearly as interesting. Imagine a show where Mary and Paul judged cakes dispensed from a vending machine. Not so good.

Also – the shortlist of candidates who started the series is certainly not random. Each of the bakers was selected to take part in the show with an eye to how well they would come across on screen, and whether they could laugh convincingly at Mel’s jokes at the same time as mixing dough. There was also (presumably) a general desire to represent an approximate cross-section of British society.

So this is not as pure a contest as it appears. But that’s OK – because life is like that. Plus it makes for good TV.

And recruitment is not just about technical skills either. The ability to relate to others, to work as part of a team, to learn, to share information, to work under pressure – these are all major factors too.

This is why you need to consider broadening your repertoire of recruitment tools, or use a recruiter who does. We now routinely measure behaviour, general intelligence, emotional intelligence, and motivation. This gives us and our clients a distinct advantage. See www.bluespoint.net for more about this.

Talking of advantages – who should win tonight?

For the record, I’m backing Nadiya. But only because of her baking ability, of course!