How do you hire top performers?

We had the pleasure to co-organise a roundtable breakfast discussion with Learnitect. The topic for the day - “Winning the War for Talent - Recruiting and Empowering Top Performers” - was addressed from the L&D point of view by Learnitect and from the recruiting point of view by our co-founder Nick Patterson.

So, how can you attract top talent into your organisation?

1. Understanding needs

Get as much data as you can. Also, use the resources in front of you: what does the hiring manager think. The “needs” are often not “more money”, but instead more soft factors like “room for personal impact” etc.

2. Articulate the selling story

Job descriptions are typically describing a role in a company, not selling it. Remove unnecessary detail; ensure the company, team and role are being sold; draw out some clear selling points based on the needs of the talent

3. Reach the right audience

It’s critical your channel is reaching the right people. Trial different channels and test the effectiveness of each: record hiring metrics like role description views, number of screening calls. This also gives hiring managers the confidence that they are seeing the best people

4. Focus on the profile, not the experience

Effective assessment requires a clear understanding of the intrinsics you want to attract, and a way to assess these. The first step is understanding the intrinsic skills you’re looking for: this is very different to experience.

5. Take a long-term view

Assess what you want this person to become, not what they need to be at the start. Interviews are notoriously bad at selection (some studies site below 50% effectiveness). It’s critical the right people are interviewing (i.e., founders might not be the best) and people are trained in interviewing

6. Get people “bought-in” during the interview process

Case studies allow people to understand the potential impact and excitement of the role. Coaching people during the interview process can make it clear that you value professional development. Have a buddy system - assign each offeree, someone, the moment they receive the offer, who will partner them and welcome them to the company

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