Paul Dodd

Let's say you've got two candidates, Bob and Doug.

Basically, they look the same.  Both have:

•B.B.A.s (Bachelor of Business Administration)
•Been in the working world for about 7 years
•Held the title of Procurement Manager for 2 years
•Worked for a large retail chain
•Great presentation (good resume, strong references, solid track record, etc.)

But then I tell you that Bob spent all four weeks of his vacation last year training for a triathlon, where he came in third place in his division, while Doug likes work so much that it's also his 'hobby' and he's always writing blogs or speaking at industry events.
 

The same.  But different.

Which one do you want to hire?

More importantly, which one will perform better in your organization?

If you knew more about your current and past top performers, you wouldn't have to guess.
 
 
Your organization knows exactly what your ideal customers look like.
Shouldn't you know what your ideal employee looks like, too?
 
Most successful organizations spend a lot of time profiling their ideal customers: they identify demographics, hobbies, political and spiritual views, education, occupation, the cars they drive, spending habits - they can even give you an hour-by-hour breakdown of what their target market groups do on a daily basis. So when they need to expand (i.e. 'sell more stuff'), they know exactly where to find their audience, how to reach them, and what message(s) will be most successful.

For example, let's say they know that 45% of their most lucrative customer group are 30-something women in urban areas who work out at a gym at least twice a week.  Armed with that knowledge, they can spend $50k handing out samples of their product in health clubs in downtown areas - and end up with better results (increased sales, awareness and 'buzz') than if they'd spent $1 million on some big television ad campaign.

Why aren't we doing this in recruiting?  Or even HR, since they're the ones in the best position to collect data on predictors of long-term success in a particular role, department or organization.
 
 
Education, Skills and Experience Aren't Enough
 
You may know some basics about your top performers in a given role - like people with at least 2 years' experience in your industry will do better, in the first 12 months, than people who don't, for instance.

But do you know whether Bob (as a triathlete, he's going to be driven, energetic and detail-oriented; but his commitment to triathlon training means that he rarely stays past 5pm and he always uses his full vacation/lieu time) or Doug (as a type-A overachiever, driven and willing to work 12-hour days; but he gets a little over-invested sometimes and works harder, not smarter) will perform best in the long term?
 
 
The Commonalities May Not Be Work-Related
 
We recently worked with a software company who conducted an in-depth analysis of their top performers across several high-volume roles at the intermediate (5-10 years' experience) level. They mapped usual metrics (education, skills, experience, etc.) but then went into hobbies, lifestyle, interests and activities.

Their insight?  The majority of their top performers in these roles shared a love of jazz music and tended to live in higher-density urban areas.

So they started recruiting at jazz festivals, by sponsoring and running refreshment tents and booths.  They were able to cut through the clutter (as the only 'recruiting sponsor' there, there was no competition for candidates as there would be at a career fair); they were interacting with people in a positive context; and they were sending a powerful message about their employment brand ("Everyone at our company loves jazz as much as you do - wouldn't it be fun to work with us?").

Time-to-hire was cut dramatically; cost-per-hire was cut by 50% - and two years after they started recruiting at jazz festivals, they saw a decrease in turnover for those high-volume roles.
 
 
Start Profiling Star Performers
 
Creating a profile of your top performers doesn't have to turn into an expensive, 6-month enterprise-wide odyssey.  Start by choosing one of your most common roles, and map it out (it's helpful to make a one-page template with the appropriate sections):

1.Talk to managers who supervise the role to identify at least 5 top performers in that role in the past 12-24 months

2.List their basic characteristics (education, skills, experience, etc.)
 
3.Identify their personality traits in some detail (not just whether they're 'self-starters' or not, but whether they're gregarious or reserved, prefer frenetic activity or quiet serenity, serious or jokesters, etc.)
 
4.Identify their work styles (whether they're slow and steady or last-minute dynamos, do their best work at 8am or 8pm, prefer to work in teams or independently)
 
5.List their hobbies and interests (whether they spend leisure hours socializing or alone, prefer outdoor activities or making craft projects, what music they like, what restaurants they go to, where they shop for clothes, etc.)
 
 
Create Your 'Ideal Candidate' Profile
 
Look at the one-page summaries you've just filled out.  What are the commonalities?

Using a blank template, fill in the information based on the majority of the top performers' profiles:  If, say, 4 out of 5 top performers are gregarious morning people, then you know these are traits of your ideal candidate.

And there you are:  You have a one-page summary of the ideal candidate!

Now that you know what your ideal candidate looks like, you won't have to guess whether you should hire Bob or Doug - you'll know which one is more likely to become a top-performer in your organization.