How to Hire an A-Team

Written by Bernard Lunn / July 7, 2009 6:19 PM / 7 Comments

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In How to Be an Effective CEO, we noted three things that a CEO has to do. One of them is to hire and fire a top management team. One of the simplest rules to understand is:

Hire an A-Team and it will hire an A-Team. Hire a B-Team and it will hire a C-Team.

This is simple to understand but hard to execute.

Integrity

Here is a bit of timeless wisdom from Warren Buffet. He advises that, when hiring, look for brains, energy, and integrity. But if the people you find don't have integrity, the other two qualities will kill you.

10 Tips for Hiring an A-Team

Don't be afraid to hire people who are smarter than you.
That is harder to do than to say. You need a lot of innate confidence to do this. Hiring someone for a technical competency that you lack is easy. Hiring someone who will challenge your thinking on every level and may later go on to build a business much more successful than yours is harder.
Hire athletes.
They have energy, know how to endure pain to get results, and like to win.
Focus hard on building a win/win compensation plan.
That is, a win for the company and a win for the employee. This is also hard to do right. Even good compensation plans get gamed, which is why Buffet's advice about integrity is so critical. Be generous... but also demanding (see #5).
Take the time you need.
Hiring is your most important job. Take the time to interview a lot of candidates; cast a wide net. Spend a lot of face-to-face time with the candidates on your short list. Do real reference checks, ideally face to face. Meet their family and friends socially. As a side benefit, interviewing a ton of smart people is a great way to learn more about your market.
Be demanding.
Find people who want to achieve ambitious goals, spend time setting metrics, and then hold them accountable to them.
Be honest and transparent.
You cannot expect integrity from others unless you show it yourself. And you can't fake it either, not with members of an A-Team. They will be too smart for B.S.
Listen.
Just as listening is the key to selling, it is also the key to recruiting.
Establish techniques and tests specific to the position.
What is useful for a developer is not useful for a salesperson, and vice versa.
Get a second opinion.
This second opinion could come from someone internal (another manager) or someone external (an advisor). Assume that recruiters have a vested interest in closing, so take what they say with a grain of salt.
Don't just "fill a position."
That is not a meaningful milestone. It may allow you to check that box, but it will create 10 more boxes to check if you get it wrong. Don't be afraid to delay until you get the best possible person.

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Comments

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Nice post! I would add that a structured process also increases the likelihood of success and saves time. Ask all candidates a common set of questions. And when you do make a bad hire, fix it promptly. It's not good for anyone to keep someone in the wrong job.

Posted by: markkrikorian.pip.verisignlabs.com | July 8, 2009 8:43 AM

Good post - thanks.

Re #2 - another advantage with athletes and dedicated sports people is that they usually don't drink, or only very little! Important for those recruiting for the hospitality industry...

Posted by: Ken Burgin | July 8, 2009 4:43 PM

That is, a win for the company and a win for the employee. This is also hard to do right. Even good compensation plans get gamed, which is why Buffet's advice about integrity is so critical?

Posted by: runescape gold | July 10, 2009 1:59 AM

and integrity. But if the people you find don't have integrity, the other two qualities will kill you.

Posted by: rs gold | July 10, 2009 2:00 AM

Meet their family and friends socially. As a side benefit, interviewing a ton of smart people is a great way to learn more about your market.

Posted by: wow gold | July 10, 2009 2:01 AM

You should not be promulgating ideas which insult honorable and reputable recruiters for whom every placement is a credibility check. If I place a rotten apple, it is no different that your having a lousy meal and service at a fine restaurant: you will broadcast your experience, and the restaurant will suffer. If a candidate whom I have placed turns out to be incompetent or worse, then my own business is harmed.

My reputation and credibility are on the line with every placement I make. My counsel to CEOs and hiring influences must be sound and credible or they won't trust me again. What I tell them is based on thorough homework and reference checking not just the references the candidate supplies but many which he/she has NO idea I've done. Often from confidential sources I've placed, served, counseled or befriended over the last 25 years.

And, yes, I have seen candidates perform magnificently on assessments and turn out to be poor hires. No formal assessment tool takes the place of in-depth face-to-face interviewing by a team of smart, savvy professionals coupled with thorough professional referencing.

Just as a small minority are gaming LinkedIn which is after all, just another tool, another minority does well on psychological profiling and yet are not desirable hires.

Why assume that recruiters are only interested in closing the deal or having the equivalent of a one-night stand? We want repeat clients who call upon us for decades, and we strive to be viewed as members of our clients' teams. Slam-dunking bad hires is poor strategic marekting.

Sometimes, corporate executives are their own worst enemy when hiring. They either don't think outside the box or bring too many pre-conceived, shallow prejudices to the challenge of hiring top talent. And, they, themselves, don't listen well enough or aren't open to thoughtful advice.

Great CEO's form life-long relationships with select recruiters who have their finger on the pulse of their industry niche, and are in an excellent position to proffer advice no one else can or will.

Like many other fine recruiters, my 1200 Marketing and Communications placements evidence valuable experience and are not just "a grain of salt" to be cavalierly tossed away by those proffering sophomoric advice or those shilling for their business friends.

Heidi, what "consideration" is Pradco providing for posts such as yours?

With Every Good Wish,
Laurie Mitchell, Certified Personnel Consultant

Posted by: Laurie Mitchell, Certified Personnel Consultant | July 11, 2009 8:19 PM

Competency based hiring. Yes, it may not sound any new phrase but it is effective. One of the important process in SMR is to hire a person based on competencies that are required for the position that the person has applied. We shortlist, interview and select based on competencies. Most of the times it results in efficient and competent candidate to be filled in to the position. We use HRDPower tool for this process.
For more information you can visit www.smrhrgroup.com or www.hrdpower.com

Posted by: SMR | July 27, 2009 8:15 PM