Topgrading

 

Many people view Topgrading largely as a highly effective hiring process (which it is!), but are not quite sure how to Topgrade existing employees.  Can Topgrading be used for people who are currently on your team?  Absolutely!

 

The process to determine whether or not incumbents are A players is similar to the Topgrading hiring process, with some notable differences.  Here are the steps.

 

1. If you do not already have one, create a Job Scorecard.

A good Job Scorecard contains two sections, specific and measurable Accountabilities (the results you expect an A player in the position to deliver) and a list of Competencies that are key to delivering expected results.

 

If you already have a list of goals and objectives for the position, you already have a good start on the Accountabilities.  However, you have to be sure that the Accountabilities are measurable and sufficient.  Sufficient means that if a person were to deliver those results, and only those results, you would consider him or her an A player. 

 

People sometimes get hung up on describing Key Competencies.  Most companies have a list of values (integrity, teamwork, etc.), which is a good place to start.  Chances are, your organization’s values will be key competencies for most positions.  If you get stuck, use our list of 50 Topgrading Competencies to come up with additional areas that an A player must exhibit to deliver the expected results.

 

2. Conduct a Tandem Topgrading Interview with the individual.

If your organization is large enough, it is best if the individual is interviewed by two Topgrading-trained A players from another area of the company.  If the interviewers have a lot of interaction and history with the candidate, there is a tendency to not dig deeply enough to get at the important details of accomplishments and mistakes.

 

If your organization is not big enough to do that, recognize that interviewers may not probe enough into areas they have experience with to mitigate bias as much as possible.  At a minimum, the person’s current supervisor should not be one of the interview partners.  Their insights and opinions will be included in the assessment (verbal 360º interview)

 

3. Conduct 360º interviews with 5-10 coworkers.

These 360º interviews could also be described as “internal reference checks.”  You should speak with a person’s supervisor, several peers, several direct reports, and internal customers.  We recommend favoring A player coworkers for these interviews, mainly because their motives are less questionable than those of non-As.  A non-A player subordinate could paint a glowing picture of her boss because the supervisor does not hold people accountable and weak performers love that. Or, that non-A player subordinate could view the 360º interview as an opportunity to really “stick it to him” because he recently put her on a Performance Improvement Plan.  Favoring A players will not eliminate those types of situations, but will reduce the likelihood of occurrence.

 

Ask coworkers about the individual’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Recent Accomplishments, Recent Mistakes, their best Suggestions for the individual to perform and grow, and about any specific areas you are interested in.  For instance, if Communication is a key competency, you could ask, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the effectiveness of Jason’s communications, and why?”

 

4. Write a short summary report and rate the Job Scorecard.

After you and your interview partner complete the Topgrading Interview and 360º interviews, write a short summary report outlining the individual’s strengths (about 20), weaker areas (4-5) and any developmental recommendations you have for him or her. 

 

Then rate the Job Scorecard to determine whether or not the person is an A player.

 

5. Give the person feedback.

Be sure to “close the loop” on the process by giving the person feedback on your conclusions.  If you determined the person is an A player, the feedback will help that person remain at an A level and your developmental recommendations may help him or her reach their career goals more efficiently.

 

If the person has A potential, the feedback will help them get to the A player-level as quickly as possible.

 

If the person is a non-A player and does not have the potential to become an A, the feedback can help you convince the person that they are in the wrong position and open the conversation about what they could do in the organization or elsewhere to perform at an A level.

 

ERE.net is a popular networking and learning site for recruiters.  The site publishes Excellence Awards annually; there were seven award winners and seven runners up for 2010.  A description of the awards, winners, and what they did in 2009 is in a four-part article on their site.  Links to the article: Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4.

 

Winners were divided into seven categories - Employee Referral Programs, Employer Branding, Corporate Careers Website, College Recruiting, Excellence in Retention, Strategic Use of Technology, and Overall Award Winner

The list of winners and the best practices they have implemented are great resources for those of you in Human Resources and business leaders who have HR people reporting to them.  It is  a nearly comprehensive list of the things a great HR Department could and should be doing…but one metric is conspicuously missing from the criteria upon which companies were judged.  The missing metric is Quality of Hire.  In other words, when someone was hired, did that person turn out to be an A player or not? Read more »

(Note:  In this article is a chart with 50 competencies color coded by Easy to Change, Hard to Change, and In-Between.)

Managers have told us that one of their most recurring frustrations, a daily challenge, is trying to figure out if an employee can improve in one or more competencies – if training or coaching will actually make a difference.  Or, if the person is “hard-wired” and simply not capable of changing, even if they are a super coach.

Ditto for hiring.  After conducting tandem Topgrading interviews, there is almost always a conversation that goes something like this:  “We agree, candidate X has a lot of strengths, but like all candidates, she has some weaker points.  She is no better than average in several competencies, such as political savvy, personal organization, and public speaking.  Do you suppose that training events and coaching can significantly improve her in these three competencies?”

We Topgraders have what should be a very clean, definitive answer.  I’ve interviewed over 6,000 executives, each with an average of 10 jobs, and I heard for each and every job their description of successes, failures, boss appraisals of their competencies and whether those competencies were strengths or weaker points.  That’s over 60,000 “case studies” that shed light on whether or not competencies can be improved upon.  Multiply that times 40 Topgrading professionals, and we really should know if competencies can be changed and if so, how managers can coach people to change.  (The “how” is a future Topgrading Tips.)

For now, let’s make some generalizations.  As Topgrading professionals, we’ll share our experience with you, categorizing 50 competencies according to whether those competencies are Easy to Change, Hard to Change, or In-Between.

Are there exceptions?  Of course.  Integrity, intelligence, and passion are hard-wired, but occasionally someone does “re-wire” their brain.  For example I worked with a man who truly authored his own “integrity transplant.”  He was fired from a brokerage firm for dishonesty, and prohibited from selling stocks and bonds, ever!  He characterized himself as a “slimeball,” and a few years later compared himself, or rather his FORMER self to the wheeler-dealer in the movie Wall Street (‘greed is good’).  He was so shattered at how he had disappointed his parents, wife, kids, and friends, that he did in fact transform himself.  Ten years later I interviewed him and he insisted that my client call all bosses he’d had since the debacle, for he said, “They will rate me a 10 on a 10-point scale of honesty, and describe my ethics as rock solid.”

Indeed the references were that positive.  Flash forward 20 years and the man retired as CEO of a famous company, and his reputation was (and is) stellar.

Another example:  I’ve seen many “obviously” C player managers, lacking in resourcefulness, drive, energy, passion, and initiative, “come alive” and perform at the A player level when something crucial happened:  the company Topgraded, fired C player bosses and replaced them with A players.  In most of those cases the Topgrading Interview showed that the “C players” had been As in the past, and when they again reported to A players who encouraged their ideas and inspired them, they returned to A player status.

But generally don’t expect dramatic improvements in people who are intellectually limited, lazy, dishonest, or uninspiring.  Or, to say it more accurately, only bet on people improving competencies when they have a history of improving competencies.

People who, in job after job, overcome weaker points are usually high potential people with accurate self-awareness, self-objectivity, and a high level of ambition and energy.  They show a pattern of soliciting feedback, welcoming coaching, and actually turning weaker points into strong points.  Aah – these are the A players you want, the high performers who will welcome your coaching and actually improve!

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: The new Topgrading Workbook, the one used in all our workshops, is organized around the Topgrading Vision.  Each of the 12 steps is explained, the problem it solves is clarified, and then fun exercises teach the Topgrading skill.  You have to actually use it to get the favorable results!  For more information and to invest in the Topgrading Workbook, click here.

Talent Management Magazine interviewed Sarah Hibberson, SVP of Human Resources for L’Oréal USA in the April issue.  Ms. Hibberson describes how putting significant focus on people has helped the company weather the economic storm over the past 18 months.   (L’Oréal’s profits were down 8% in 2009…but the company still earned $2.44B!)

 

Here is the full article, where Ms. Hibberson describes how L’Oréal:

1.      Tends to promote from within

2.      Aligns individual goals and accountabilities with overall business goals

3.      Adjusts goals and accountabilities at least yearly

4.      Conducts talent reviews and succession planning meetings twice per year

5.      Reduces the risk of hiring new college graduates with internship programs

6.      Ties management bonuses to business objectives and leadership behaviors

 

It is no surprise that given the time and energy L’Oréal gives to attracting, promoting, developing, and retaining the best people they have faired relatively well even in a poor economy.

 

 

 

 

After numerous requests from Topgraders to provide a method for them to link up with each other, we’ve launched the official Topgrading LinkedIn group!

 

Why join?  Topgraders want to bounce ideas off of each other, get advice, offer tips, and build relationships.  Until now the blog has provided a limited forum, but mostly it has been us offering the Topgrading Tips newsletters and other articles and commentary, without encouraging much dialog among Topgraders.  As much as we like to share our thoughts, you can learn as much or more from people who are actually doing it!

Our role will be minimal.  This group is for you to get to know and communicate with other Topgraders.  We specifically don’t intend to over-moderate and we won’t dominate discussions.  We will try to answer questions where appropriate, encourage successful Topgraders to contribute, and from time to time announce a new book release, workshop, or product (maybe…as long as it’s a very important announcement!).  

 

How to Join:  If you already have a LinkedIn profile, follow this link, sign in, and join the group.  

 

If you aren’t yet on LinkedIn, joining is simple – just click (here). After you create your free account and profile, follow this link and join the group.