Who: The A Method for Hiring

Why did I choose this resource?

I chose this resource to help me create a recruiting process that will make it easier for us to hire top notch employees.

What did you learn from it?

I learned methods for hiring grade A employees and other methods to avoid. This includes a series of interviews and questions to help differentiate A players from B and C candidates as well as how to attract these types of people. I also learned how to find what we need so we are hiring people that are also a good fit for our company.

Key Knowledge

• It’s Who not What

  • What are the strategies, products, and services.

  • Who is the person who decides on the What decisions

  • “The average hiring mistake costs 15 times an employee’s base salary in hard costs and productivity loss.”

  • Better Who choices → more pleasurable career → increased salary → more available time

  • Hire only people who have a 90% or better chance of success in the position you are trying to fill

• Voodoo Hiring – 10 Methods to avoid

  • The Art Critic –thinks they can “read” someone; most of the time they are wrong

  • The Sponge – allows too many people to interview; do not receive any valuable information

  • The Prosecutor – aggressive questioning; most knowledgeable, may not have best ability

  • The Suitor – tries too hard to impress candidate; all talking, no listening

  • The Trickster – uses “tests” to see a candidates behaviors

  • The Animal Lover – Sticks to the same questions; usually not relevant to the job

  • The Chatterbox – enjoys conversing with the person; forgets they are hiring for a position

  • The Psychological and Personality Test – answers can be faked by cunning individuals

  • The Aptitude Test – good for finding correct skill set; should not me the only deciding factor

  • The Fortune-Teller – asking the person’s view of the future in the company; great if they make it there

• ghSMART A Method for Hiring (A Method) – Four Steps

  • Scorecard – Define the role and create a picture your candidate should fit into.

  • Source – Have a sourcing system in process to make sure you have great candidates available when you need them.

  • Select  – Series of organized interviews and relevant questions.

  • Sell – Helps keeping people with the talent you desire from going elsewhere.

• Scorecard  – Blueprint

  • Mission – A summary of the jobs focal point written in easy to read language.

  • Outcomes – Tasks/goals that need to be met by a candidate. Set these high enough to scare away B and C players, and challenge A players.

  • Competencies – How a candidate is expected to conduct themselves in a job

    • Core competencies include: Efficiency, honesty/integrity, organization and planning, aggressiveness, follow-through on commitments, intelligence, analytical skills, attention to detail, persistence, and proactivity.

  • Cultural Competencies – Know your companies’ culture and hire someone that fits!

• Source

  • Internal

    • Ask personal and professional networks for referrals

      • Talented people know talented people

    • Offer employees incentive for finding great talent

      • Changes their view from What to Who

  • External – Recruiters and Researchers

    • Only works when you are open and honest about who you are, the issues, and what is needed

  • Sourcing System – Final step in sourcing process

    • Spend 30 minutes EVERY week to recognize and support A players

• Select

  • The Screening Interview – phone interview ,no longer than 30 minutes

    • What are your career goals?

    • What are you really good at professionally?

    • What are you not good at or not interested in doing professionally?

    • Who were your last five bosses, and how will they each rate your performance on a 1 – 10 scale when we talk to them?

  • The Topgrading Interview – in person, can take up to 3 hours

    • Encourages you to perform a great screening interview and reduces the hiring failure rate

    • Begins with asking about highs and lows of the person’s educational career

    • Moving from past to present, ask these five questions about each previous job:

      • What were you hired to do?

      • What accomplishments are you proud of?

      • What were some low points during that job?

      • Who were the people you worked with?

        • Ask bosses name, what it was like working with them, and finally ask what their old boss will say are their strengths and weaknesses.

      • Why did you leave that job?

    • Five Master Tactics

      • Interrupting

      • The Three P’s

      • Push versus Pull

      • Painting a Picture

      • Stopping at the Stop Signs

  • The Focused Interview – possibly multiple interviews, 45 – 60 minutes each

    • Focuses on the scorecard you created

    • Team members can assist with these interviews

  • The Reference Interview – 4 performed by you, 3 by your team (7 total)

    • Only performed when you have already decided you would like to hire a canidate (as long as the reference check goes well)

    • Choose the right references and then ask the candidate to set up the calls.

    • Five main questions you should ask each reference.

• Sell

  • Five F’s of Selling

    • Fit – most important point, show the person their talents and values aligns with the companies’.

    • Family – make the candidate feel accepted

    • Freedom – show that your organization allows for growth; A players will thrive

    • Fortune – Award increased/improved performance with top compensation

    • Fun – this is your corporate culture.

  • Five Phases of Selling

    • When sourcing

    • During interviews

    • After an offer, before the candidate accepts

    • Between the acceptance and start date

    • During the hires first 100 days

• Legal Traps to Watch Out For – 4 Areas of concern

  • Relevance

  • Standardization

  • Nondiscretionary Language

  • Illegal Questions

    • Anything related to marital status, children, pregnancy, age, birth place, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.

    • Medical condition and physical or mental health may only be questioned if it is directly relevant to the performance of the job.

How are you using what you learned?

I am using what I learned to create a recruiting process. This process will include the types of interviews and the questions that will be asked; as well as the way in which we search for and retain a great employee.

Key Changes / Key Actions

• Search for new talent from within the company

• Incorporate selling into the hiring process

• Create a written process for finding, interviewing, and retaining grade A employees

Source

• Name : Who

• Author : Geoff Smart and Randy Street

• Summary.com: Link to Book