2. Source
2. Source

A-Player Sourcing Methods

"CEO's of billion-dollar companies that we interviewed for this book (Who Interview) recognize recruitment as one of their most important jobs. It is not a one time event, or something they do only every now and then. They are always sourcing, always on the lookout for new talent. This ensures you have high-quality candidates waiting when you need them."

We source for A Players who by definition are candidates who have at least a 90 percent chance of achieving a set of outcomes that only the top 10 percent of possible candidates could achieve.

Sourcing methods to re-think

Traditional- a vacancy opens up in a manager's division, and the manager panics. He has no idea how he is going to fill the spot, so he calls HR. HR asks for a job description, which he copies from an old one he finds and submits to the HR team to post. He will then interview candidates that apply and hire one of them. Think about how passive such an approach is. It relies on finding people in "talent pools" at particular points of need. Yet we all know that talent pools grow stagnant. Most A Players are happy where they are.

Ads- The overwhelming evidence from our field interviews is that ads are a good way to generate a tidal wave of resumes, but lousy way to generate the right flow of candidates.

Tip #1: Ask your personal and professional network

"The number one method of sourcing candidates is to ask for referrals from your personal and professional networks."

Make recruiting part of everyone's job. - Work Rules Offer incentives and add sourcing A players to your people's scorecard.

77% of industry leaders, without any prompting from us, cited referrals as their top technique for generating a flow of the right candidates for their business. Yet, among average managers it is the least often practiced approach to sourcing.

Ways to source your personal and professional network

Outside Referrals

Patrick Ryan, who grew Aon Corporation from a start-up in 1964 to a $13 billion company has a very simple strategy for hunting new talent.

Constantly on the hunt for A Players

Goal of personally bring 30 people a year from personal and business network

Asks this simple, powerful question: Who are the most talented people you know that I should hire? He will then create a list and call a couple of people from his list every week

In-house Referrals

Selim Bassoul, the CEO of Middleby Corporation, told us that employee referrals became our number-one recruiting technique. After all, who knows your needs and culture better than the people who are already working for you? "We told employees, 'If you spot somebody like us, at a customer, at a supplier, or at a competitor, we want to hire them.' That became very successful. Employees referred 85 percent of our new hires!" he said.

Paul Tudor, founder of Tudor Investment Corporation, has made in-house referrals a key part not only of our staffing policies but also of promotions. Principals have to source three candidates who can pass a phone screen by our CEO to earn eligibility for a promotion to partner.

Add sourcing to your scorecards. Try something along the lines of, "Source [number] A Player candidates per year." Then reward the effort by providing financial or other incentive such as extra vacation time.

The greatest benefit of in-house sourcing, though may be how it alters the mind-set throughout an enterprise. By turning your people into talent spotters, everyone starts viewing the business through a who lens, not just a what one.

Tip #2: Hire an external recruiter

65% of our top performers use outside recruiters, but they can only do so much if you don't expose them to the inner culture and workings of your business. Think of recruiters much the way you would think of a doctor or a financial advisor. The more you keep them in the dark about who you are, what's wrong, and what you really need, the less effective they will be.

Ed Evans, the SVP of human resources for Allied Waste, the $6 billion waste management company, has experienced a wide variety of performance levels throughout his career. "You have to treat them like partners. Give them enough of a peek under the kimono so they really understand who you are as a firm and as a person. Recruiters who do not understand who you are will be counterproductive."

Tip # 3: Attend Events

We (

HLA⁠

) have found much success sourcing at events we attend as a company. We carry our culture and mission everywhere we go and naturally attract individuals who identify with us. As stated above, ABS, always be sourcing.

Tip #4: Talk to customers

Customers are great as they already know what you are all about and continuously choose to do business with you. Some want to take a bigger role of the journey you are on.

Tip #5: Create a sourcing system

"Sourcing talent through these proven practices is easy. The challenge is less a matter of knowing what to do than of putting a system in place to manage the process and having the discipline to follow through."

This is great advice for many aspects of our life. Make it a priority to keep a list of potential A Players and reach out to them regularly.

Sample Interaction for HLA

The key to effective sourcing to be constantly be on the look out for talent. Ask great people you encounter in your everyday interactions to join our team. Here are some examples of conversations we've found work for us 👇

Team member

Example, "Hey, I work at HLA, we have the best Mexican desserts and are always looking for great people like yourself. Here is my boss' card, call him or shoot him a text. Let him know YOUR NAME referred you." OR if they give you their number, the boss will reach out.

Hiring manager

The manager interaction with the candidate will go something like this:

"Team member recommended that you and I connect. I understand you are great at what you do. I am always on the lookout for talented people and would love the chance to get to know you. Even if you are perfectly content in your current job, I'd love to introduce myself and hear about your career interests."

*One more thing!! Assuming you were even moderately impressed with what you heard, be sure to ask the key follow-up question: "Now that you know a little about me, who are the most talented people you know who might be a good fit for my company?"*