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The book Who: The ‘A’ Method for Hiring, by Randy Street and Geoff Smart, states that in business, you are who you hire. The publication offer solutions to one of the fundamental problems in business – hiring mistakes.

The basic premise is:

•  Having good people in your company is by far the most important factor in business success
•  You can identify those “good” people because they will have been “good” somewhere else
•  Much of the standard recruitment approach does not really help find these ‘A’ grade candidates

There are four components to the ‘A’ Method:

•  Mission – why the role exists
•  Role expectations for the candidate that are specific and measurable
•  Competencies - not just skills but cultural areas also as people have to ‘fit in’

2. sourcing

You need to find a good pool of quality applicants which can be done through the following means:

• Recruiters – ensure they fully understand your culture
• Referrals – ask current ‘A’ grade employees for referrals, build your own professional and personal network

3. SELECTING

Four types of interviews should be carried out:

Screening (weed out applicants who can’t succeed): 20 to 30 minutes on the phone

•  What are your career goals?
•  What are you really good at?
•  What are you not so good at?
•  Who were your last bosses and how would they rate you on a scale of 1 – 10?

Top grading (focus on finding the ‘A’ player): About 2 hours face-to-face

•  What were you employed to do?
•  What achievements are you most proud of?
•  What were the low points?
•  Who did you work with (names) – what would they tell me about your greatest strengths and achievements and areas for improvement?
•  Why did you leave?
•  Use the three ‘Ps’ to evaluate accomplishments – Performance, output compared to Plan and Peers

Focused (a deeper dive into potential ‘A’ candidates)

•  Explore one or two competencies or outcomes which best describe success in the position to be filled
•  Probe accomplishments and past mistakes
•  Explore the cultural fit

Reference (this is essential)

•  Speak to bosses, co-workers and subordinates
•  These conversations should be arranged by the interviewee
•  Be aware of an unwillingness to help or that the reference will only want to give dates of employment
•  Use hypothetical questions
•  Use the same questions as used during the screening process

4. SELLING

Keep in mind that ‘A’ list applicants probably have options other than your organisation so you have to sell the job. Sell the following:

•  Fit – between applicant and job and organisation
•  Family – “we are aware that you have a life and respect that”
•  Fortune – illustrate what success will mean in five years with the business
•  Freedom – “we do not micro-manage ‘A’ players”
•  Fun – a talented person in a good fit in a great organisation is going to be fun

We do have a limited number of copies of the book available. Please contact Anne Charmer, anne@oilrecruitment.co.uk if you would like a copy.

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