Topgrading

Bob Corlett, CEO of Staffing Advisors, a retained search firm, was critical of Topgrading in two entries on his blog, The Staffing Advisor. His main criticisms are that it is too hard to identify exactly what an A player is, the Topgrading Interview is too much of an interrogation, and the Topgrading selection process is too cumbersome for smaller companies.

Here is the original post that contains Brad’s response and Mr. Corlett’s rebuttal to the response, both worth checking out.

I’ve spent time talking with and working with dozens of smaller companies over the past few months. All of them swear by Topgrading because it has dramatically improved results. All of them are making money and many of them are growing even in this poor economy.

Rudy’s Country Stores and Bar-B-Q in Austin, Access Development Corporation, Restaurants on the Run, Triton Management Group, DenTek Oral Care, National Heritage Academies, Employment Group, Envision EMI, American Workforce, and Home Instead Health Care are among the smaller companies that have conscientiously implemented Topgrading and have reaped the results.

It’s a shame that those of you who are not in the Fortune 1000 are encouraged to stay away from Topgrading because, to paraphrase, it’s too hard! The cost of mishiring an executive, mid-level manager, or professional individual contributor is ASTRONOMICAL and even one C player can dramatically hobble your business. Being more rigorous and thorough in analyzing hiring decisions using Job Scorecards, the Tandem Topgrading Interview, and In-Depth Reference Checks will virtually eliminate your chance of hiring a C player. Put another way, spend as much time figuring out whether or not to hire someone as you would spend figuring out whether or not to spend $100,000 on a new software package. You stand to get the most value from it because you are agile enough to implement it quickly and (relatively) inexpensively. And your newly-hired A player is an appreciating asset as he/she grows, learns, and hires more As.

If you are in a smaller company, have reaped the benefits of implementing Topgrading, and can spare a few minutes, please share your experience with Mr. Corlett by posting a response on his blog. (click on this link and scroll down to the bottom of the page)