Would you enthusiastically rehire everyone in your company?

February 2, 2018

Do you have techniques in hiring that remove C Players?

In my experience, to ensure you are hiring the best possible talent, you must truly understand a candidate’s past work history. I’ve found the following techniques to be most effective at uncovering these truths about a potential hire.

My two favorite techniques

The two interview techniques I love most are the TORC and CIDS interview questions.

My experience is that for the most part, reference checks don’t amount to much. That’s why I love TORC (Threat of Reference Check). I strongly recommend using it at the end of your initial screening call IF this is a candidate advancing to the next step. It that includes these three questions:

1.     Who were your last 5 managers? (get names and companies, and ask for 2 or 3 if entry level position)

2.     What will your former managers tell us about your strengths and weaknesses?

3.     How will they rate your performance on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest?

Follow up this line of questioning with, “We are not going to do reference checks yet, but if you make it to the final interview round, we will ask you to set up those reference checks for us.” 

Watch “C Players” go running for the hills! You will be surprised by the number of candidates you never hear from again or remove themselves from consideration by simply inferring that you will ask them to set up reference calls with their former employers.

CIDS (‘Chronological In-Depth Structured Interview’) shines a light on the candidates that performed and those that didn’t perform. CIDS is an in-depth review of a candidate’s job history, including accomplishments, misses, decisions, bosses, peers, etc. Through interview structure, I’ve witnessed candidates realize they were just caught in a lie, based on an early answer, and “time out.” Because this style of interview can last up to four hours, it is only recommended for your final one or two candidates. You can’t hide during CIDS. “A Players” love the interview, “C Players” hate it. 

Depending on the skill type you are looking to hire, you will need to adapt your methodology accordingly. For example, when hiring technical people, you should implement a technical skills evaluation specific to your needs.

Where do these two techniques come from? Topgrading.

What is Topgrading?

Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, is regarded as a highly successful CEO for many reasons, but perhaps the most important measure of his effectiveness as a leader was his approach to finding, coaching, and retaining the best performing business leaders in the world.

Welch employed a man named Brad Smart to develop a program and process to increase executive hiring and retention success from 50% (industry average) to 90% (GE standard). From this experience, Smart went on to write Topgrading, which quickly became a bestseller and industry standard in many successful growth companies over the past two decades.

When Topgrading was first introduced, it was designed for large, Fortune 500-type firms, not mid-market or regional companies. That changed with the 3rd edition of Topgrading in May 2012, as it focused specifically on serving mid-market growth companies, complete with dozens of case studies and tools that are applicable to growth companies of any size.

To truly take Topgrading to the next level, ask yourself this question: Would I enthusiastically rehire everyone in my company?”

If you want to answer yes to the question, please connect with me today. I want to help you make your company all it can be – and that starts with who you’re hiring and retaining.