Summary of Who The A Method for Hiring by GEOFF SMART and RANDY STREET

Hiring. It’s the lifeblood of any organization, yet it’s often done haphazardly, leading to costly mistakes and frustrated teams. In their insightful book Who: The A Method for Hiring, Geoff Smart and Randy Street offer a practical, proven method for transforming this critical process. Whether you’re a CEO, small business owner, hiring manager, or HR professional, this book provides a systematic approach to finding and selecting top talent. The authors argue that hiring the right people isn’t about luck or gut feeling, but rather a systematic approach they call the “A Method.” This summary explores the core principles of their methodology, which has been tested across thousands of hires in various industries.

The A Method helps avoid costly mis-hires by providing a structured approach to finding and selecting the best candidates. According to the authors, following the A Method can increase the chances of hiring an A Player by up to ten times.

Key Concepts

The A Method: A Four-Step Process

The core of Who is the A Method, a structured four-step process designed to eliminate guesswork and subjectivity from hiring. These steps are:

Scorecard: Define what you’re looking for before you start looking. This involves defining the mission, outcomes, and competencies required for the role. For example, if you’re hiring a sales manager, the mission might be to “build and lead a high-performing sales team,” key outcomes might include “increasing sales revenue by 20%” and “improving customer retention rates,” and competencies might include “leadership,” “communication,” and “strategic thinking.” The authors found that companies who use Scorecards are 50% more likely to be satisfied with their new hires. A Scorecard ensures everyone involved in the hiring process understands the requirements and expectations for the role.

Source: Don’t just wait for resumes to roll in. Proactively identify and attract top talent through referrals, networking, and targeted outreach. The authors emphasize the importance of referrals, stating that referrals tend to be higher quality candidates and stay in the role longer. They suggest leveraging your network and asking your best performers for recommendations. For instance, a company successfully hired a top-performing engineer after a referral from their lead software architect.

Select: Implement a rigorous, multi-stage interview process to assess candidates against your Scorecard. This involves using structured interviews, focusing on past performance, and avoiding common interview traps like relying on “gut feeling.” The book suggests four distinct interviews: the Screening Interview, the Who Interview (focused on past performance), the Focused Interview (diving deeper into specific areas), and the Reference Interview. The authors provide specific example questions for each interview type.

Sell: Once you’ve identified your ideal candidate, don’t assume they’ll automatically accept your offer. “Selling” involves showcasing your company culture, the role’s impact, and the growth opportunities. For example, a company successfully recruited a highly sought-after marketing director by emphasizing the company’s commitment to innovation and the opportunity to lead a global marketing campaign. It’s about crafting a compelling pitch that goes beyond just salary and benefits, focusing on the candidate’s individual motivations and career aspirations.

Focusing on Past Performance: The WHO Interview

The heart of the selection process is the WHO Interview. This interview technique focuses on extracting concrete examples of a candidate’s past performance to predict future behavior. The authors advise asking open-ended questions about specific situations, tasks, actions, and results (the STAR method). For example, instead of asking, “Are you a good team player?” you would ask, “Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult team member. What was the situation, what did you do, and what was the result?” By analyzing past behavior, interviewers can gain valuable insights into a candidate’s skills, experience, and how they handle challenging situations.

Avoiding the Voodoo Hire

Smart and Street warn against common hiring mistakes, which they term “voodoo hiring.” These include relying on gut feelings, neglecting to define the role clearly, and rushing the process. For instance, they cite a case study where a company hired a CEO based on charisma and reputation, only to discover later that he lacked the strategic thinking skills needed to lead the organization. They emphasize that hiring is a critical business decision and should be treated with the same rigor and analysis as any other major investment. Hiring is not about finding the “perfect” person; it’s about finding the right person for the specific role.

The Importance of Scorecards

The Scorecard isn’t just a document; it’s a foundational element of the entire A Method. By clearly defining the mission, outcomes, and competencies required for a role before starting the search, you create a benchmark against which to evaluate every candidate objectively. This eliminates subjectivity and ensures everyone involved in the hiring process is on the same page. A well-defined Scorecard also helps avoid “mission creep,” where the role’s responsibilities become unclear and unfocused. Using a Scorecard can lead to a 90% reduction in mis-hires, according to the authors.

Conclusion

Who: The A Method for Hiring provides a practical and effective framework for transforming how organizations hire. By emphasizing a systematic, data-driven approach, the book empowers readers to move beyond guesswork and make informed hiring decisions. The A Method, with its emphasis on Scorecards, sourcing, structured interviews, and selling, provides a clear roadmap for finding and attracting A Players. In today’s competitive talent market, adopting the principles of Who can be the difference between building a high-performing team and settling for mediocrity. The book’s lasting impact lies in its ability to demystify the hiring process, offering a clear, actionable methodology that can be implemented by organizations of all sizes.

Recommended Books

Books on Hiring and Recruitment:

• “Topgrading” by Bradford D. Smart:
  This book introduces the Topgrading methodology, a comprehensive system for recruiting, selecting, and developing high-performing individuals. It complements Who by providing additional strategies for identifying and attracting A Players, including rigorous reference checking techniques.

• “First, Break All the Rules” by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman:
  Based on Gallup’s extensive research, this book reveals what the world’s greatest managers do differently in selecting and developing talent. It complements Who by offering insights into how to identify potential A Players through their unique strengths and talents.

• “Recruit Rockstars” by Jeff Hyman:
  This modern guide to hiring provides practical strategies for attracting and identifying top performers in today’s digital age. It builds on the principles in Who by adding contemporary recruitment techniques and digital tools to the hiring process.

Other Books You Might Enjoy:

• "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman :
  This groundbreaking book explores how our minds make decisions through two distinct systems. Readers of Who will find value in understanding the cognitive biases that can affect hiring decisions and how to overcome them.

• "Good to Great" by Jim Collins :
  This influential work examines how companies transform from good to great, with a particular focus on getting the right people in the right positions. It appeals to the same audience as Who by demonstrating how systematic hiring practices contribute to organizational success.