Risk & Business Magazine General Insurance Services - Fall 2020 | Page 15

HIRING APPROACH
GOOD HIRE. WE DON’T KNOW WHETHER
ANY OF THESE ACTUALLY LEAD TO
BETTER HIRES, BECAUSE FEW OF THEM
ARE VALIDATED AGAINST ACTUAL JOB
PERFORMANCE. THAT ASIDE, THESE
ASSESSMENTS HAVE SPAWNED A
COUNTERWAVE OF VENDORS WHO HELP
CANDIDATES LEARN HOW TO SCORE
WELL ON THEM.
We’ve properly validated personality tests
and found that every personality test that
requires a minimum score eliminates as
many A Players as C Players. Google any
of the popular tests and you can get the
questions as well as how to “game” the test.
REVAMP YOUR INTERVIEWING PROCESS.
The Topgrading Interview is by far the
most thorough, most revealing, most valid
interview method. All other interview
approaches should be “revamped” – into the
waste basket.
RECOGNIZE THE STRENGTHS AND
WEAKNESSES OF MACHINE LEARNING
MODELS. CULTURE FIT IS ANOTHER
AREA INTO WHICH NEW VENDORS ARE
SWARMING.
The Topgrading Interview “nails” culture
fit because candidates are asked, for every
job, what they liked and disliked about the
company and their job and they are asked
how every boss would rate them on overall
performance, and what their managers
would list as their strengths and weaker
points.
MACHINE LEARNING MODELS DO HAVE
THE POTENTIAL TO FIND IMPORTANT
BUT PREVIOUSLY UNCONSIDERED
RELATIONSHIPS. THEIR RESULTS
GLOSS OVER THE FACT THAT THEY
OFTEN HAVE ONLY A TRIVIAL ABILITY
TO PREDICT WHO WILL BE A GOOD
PERFORMER.
Note: “trivial” ability to predict.
TopgradingCaseStudies.com shows the
results of dozens of case studies. I’ve already
mentioned -- the average improvement is
from 26% to 85% high performers (HIGH,
not just okay performers) hired. Equally
important is the fact that all the CEOs
say the company is more successful, more
profitable because of Topgrading.
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET BETTER AT
HIRING IF YOU CAN’T TELL WHETHER
THE CANDIDATES YOU SELECT BECOME
GOOD EMPLOYEES. IF YOU DON’T KNOW
WHERE YOU’RE GOING, ANY ROAD WILL
TAKE YOU THERE. YOU MUST HAVE A
WAY TO MEASURE WHICH EMPLOYEES
ARE THE BEST ONES.
Topgrading starts with creation of a Job
Scorecard, the measurable accountabilities
the new hire will have to achieve. This
is the most rigorous and accurate way
to determine what the candidate will be
measured on.
ORGANIZATIONS THAT DON’T CHECK
TO SEE HOW WELL THEIR PRACTICES
PREDICT THE QUALITY OF THEIR HIRES
ARE LACKING IN ONE OF THE MOST
CONSEQUENTIAL ASPECTS OF MODERN
BUSINESS.
For four decades, Topgrading companies
have accurately measured success hiring
before Topgrading and since Topgrading.
In the most famous Topgrading case
study, General Welch (under Jack Welch,
CEO from 1981- 2001) improved hiring
from 25% to 90% and became the most
valuable company in the world. Too bad
his successor abandoned Topgrading. And
hundreds of thousands of managers have
enjoyed more successful careers, using
Topgrading to create teams of almost all
high performers.
CONCLUSION: The Harvard authors did
not cite any excellent hiring approaches.
I may be biased but Topgrading is the
only outstanding approach. The authors
should have known, since there are two
Harvard Case Studies on Tograding. Only
Topgading has solved the three biggest
hiring problems” candidate dishonesty,
poor verification of what candidates claim,
and shallow, un-revealing interviews.
Go to Topgrading.com to download the
eGuide explaining HOW the three hiring
problems are solved. +
Dr. Brad Smart is an internationally
renowned management psychologist
and is generally regarded as the world’s
leading expert on hiring best practices.
The company consults with many
leading companies and hundreds of
small and growth companies. Brad has
conducted in-depth interviews with over
6,500 executives. He is author of seven
books and videos, including Topgrading
3rd Edition: The Proven Hiring And
Promoting Method That Turbocharges
Company Performance; The Smart
Interviewer: Tools and Techniques for
Hiring the Best; and the training series
Topgrading Toolkit, featuring the 12
Topgrading hiring steps and demos of
all the interviews. Topgrading methods
have helped leading companies such
General Electric, Honeywell, Barclays,
and American Heart Association
plus hundreds of small and mid-sized
companies improve their hiring methods.
Topgrading.com
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