Book Summary Preview : Topgrading

The Big Idea
Companies that mis-hire its most important resource—the people-- can result in financial drain and inefficiency. Topgrading enable companies to recruit, hire and keep the best people for the right job to get excellent results. The book, being a must read for human resource managers who rely on people to get things done, illustrates companies and even individuals aspiring to be an “A” player and how to become one. Combined with coaching on the job, people can be topgraded if external recruitment is not an option. Topgrading offers insights on motivating people using its 4,000 in-depth interviews. Companies that want positive results and stay competitive in the future must invest in the right talent.

Part 1: Topgrading for Companies

Chapter 1: Topgrading: Every Manager’s Number One Priority
Topgrading means hiring the best people for any job. For a topgraded company this means hiring “A Players” or enhancing the skills of its “B Players” and getting rid of its “C Players”. Topgrading today is a company’s priority because globalization has opened a whole new playing field that allowed more companies to enter and compete in a crowded marketplace, where even mediocre companies and their products sometimes succeed.

To beat competition, companies must topgrade their human talents since a team of “A Players” can produce competitive results while a mediocre team of “B and C Players” can be disastrous to a company. A checklist of questions and results in this chapter can show whether a company or person is a topgrader candidate.

Chapter 2: Obstacles to Topgrading: How to Overcome Them
Larry Bossidy, CEO of Alliedsignal, said: “At the end of the day, you bet on people, not on strategies.” Prior to topgrading, managers should know obstacles to its implementation and what solutions can be employed. These are:

• “C Players don’t hire A Players”. Solution: Require C players to hire A players and oversee the selection process.
• “We think we are hiring A Players, but they turn out to be C Players in disguise”. Solution: Perform more accurate assessment using at least one Chronological In-Depth Structured (CIDS) interview.
• “Our human resources people are overworked and understaffed, so we do not exactly have a pipeline of A Players going through the office.” Solution: Do more recruitment and define all management jobs that cover the ongoing recruitment.
• “Search firms just don’t produce enough A Player candidates.” Solution: Manage the search process including that of search firms much more thoroughly.
• “I want to raise the performance bar but almost every talented person I bring in from the outside is rejected by the current culture and ends up quitting.” Solution: Provide A Players air cover, protection from undermining by existing personnel.
• “We can’t afford to hire A Players.” Solution: Yes, you can—you already pay for all A Players.
• “I do not want to fire loyal C Players.” Redeploy chronic C Players anyway.
• “Our problems will soon clear up because we engaged a management consulting firm, and their report looks great, so topgrading isn’t necessary.” Solution: Topgrade first.
• “We could never attract A Players because of our location, industry, current financial problems, and so on.” Solution: pay better compensation to attract the level of talent necessary to beat competition. Or if location is a terrible recruitment obstacle, consider moving.
• “My subordinates tend to give ‘thumbs-down’ on A Players.” Solution: Don’t vote. Make the hiring decision yourself.
• “We are downsizing and my job is on the line; I need short-term results and do not have time to topgrade.” Solution: Improve short-term results by topgrading.