Want to hire superior people? First define superior performance.
We have all hired someone who, on paper, had all the qualifications and experience we were seeking. Who interviewed like a rock star.
But who then underperformed. Never really came close to delivering what we hoped they would.
Then they moved on. Or we moved them on.
So, did their qualifications and experience define their ability to perform in the position? No. They possessed the qualifications and experience they “had to have”. But they didn’t do the things they needed to do.
When we recruit, let’s ask ourselves, “Who would I rather hire? Someone who can deliver the results, or someone who has all of the qualifications and experience?”
To start the process of recruiting a key role, it’s not unusual that my client sends me a Position Description. Inevitably it lists skills, qualifications, required experience, duties and responsibilities – I’m sure you’ve seen your share!
What the Position Description doesn’t describe is what needs to be done to be defined as successful in the job, and that’s where my process starts.
That means sitting with clients and working through “what success looks like”, or in other words, what constitutes superior performance. Surprisingly enough (to me, anyway), this often hasn’t been considered, so we then work together to identify the key deliverables critical to determining success. The result of this collaboration is a Success Profile, a document that guides the rest of the recruitment process.
To give a very simple example in the case of a Sales Rep, compare the following:
Position Description:
Holds an Engineering Degree
Has minimum 5 years sales experience
Has a background in the industry
Has product knowledge
Has strong interpersonal skills
Has good solution selling skills
Success Profile:
Make five face-to-face sales calls with decision-makers/influencers per week
Generate two proposal opportunities per week
Collaborate with Engineering team to develop proposals
Present eight proposals face-to-face per month
Secure four sales per month
Achieve sales budget within 180 days
When you compare the two, it is very apparent that a candidate doing the Success Profile items will have, by definition, been successful. By contrast, a candidate having the attributes in the Position Description items aren’t a predictor of high performance.
The power of the Success Profile doesn’t end there though:
It is used as the basis for advertising (research shows that the best candidates apply for and accept positions based on what they’ll be doing, not what they have).
It is provided to qualified candidates prior to interview, to ensure expectations are clearly understood (high performers welcome the clarity around accountability).
It is used as the basis for interviewing (asking questions to get examples of candidates having successfully executed each of the agreed deliverables in previous roles).
It can be used as the basis for reviewing performance once the successful candidate starts in the role.
There is an investment of time, and thought, in getting the Success Profile right. I maintain that it is time extremely well spent. After all, and I know I’m repeating myself, surely our aim is to hire people who can deliver the required results, rather than people who on paper have all the qualifications and experience.
