Interesting that they mention topgrading. It's a concept explained in the book Who: the 'A' Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart and Randy Street. When I first read the book, I was really skeptical, but maybe there's something to it.
I think that it is useful to understand the philosophy behind the process, but adapt the process to your own style.
There are two points that I have taken from the TopGrading process:
- hire people who are 'A' players who have succeeded at whatever they have done AND who have a passion for the role you are hiring for
- past performance IS the best determinant of future success, and the best way to answer the first question
The interview process generally starts at college where you dig into why they chose their course, the highlights, where they excelled, where they failed, who influenced them and why. Did they take on any leadership positions? Win any awards?
Then for each job they have had since, find out - why they chose it, what they found, what they fixed, what they learnt & what they would do differently. Would their boss give them a reference, and why did they leave.
At each turn, you are looking for: 'were they an A player / had outstanding results' and 'does their career path lead you to believe that they will be passionate about this job'.
There's a lot of nuances to it, but I wouldn't hire senior people any other way. I recently compared our hiring notes to a comprehensive personality test of a new employee, and they matched exactly.
How do you treat blips in people's past? What if they had a bad year at university, for example, but have been consistently "A" players since beginning a career?
