Part 1 of this two-part series discussed recruiting as an essential part of building a successful company in any industry. Yet, it’s often one of the most overlooked functions in an organization. To recap, the average “mis-hire” will cost a company upwards of $2 million to $3 million in lost revenue over the course of employment. So the real question is: Can a device company afford not to invest in hiring the right people?

This series focuses on how to build a best-in-class recruiting process, which can be the foundation of an organization’s a competitive advantage. Part 2 examines the front end of the recruiting process and includes planning and finding the A-player candidates described in Part 1, which appeared in the June issue of MX.

Thorough Planning Required
An effective recruiting process requires dedicating a significant amount of time up front, and like any project, this preparation can help minimize wasted time and effort down the road for everyone involved in the process.

A good term for this first phase is planning. This encompasses defining, developing, and documenting an extensive analysis of the position, the candidate’s requirements, and the expectations for this potential hire. Engaging all stakeholders in this process is the key to avoiding potential political pitfalls throughout the organization and also eliminating unpleasant (and unnecessary) surprises down the road.

A thorough planning phase will also narrow the focus in order to better identify the right candidates from the beginning, reduce the amount of time it will take to find this person, and ultimately get him or her on board and adding value at the company. Once the planning phase is complete, the next phase of recruitment is sourcing, or finding, the candidates. 

Develop a Sourcing Strategy
A sourcing strategy is the roadmap for finding the right candidates for this search. This plan outlines how and where to identify the largest and best pool of candidates available for a specific position. Assuming that due diligence was done in the planning phase, everyone will know the critical skill sets this candidate needs, and this will help guide a device company executive’s sourcing plan.

Simply posting a job on Monster.com doesn’t cut it. Make no mistake: Posting a job can and should often be incorporated as one of many elements to a sourcing strategy—but it rarely yields A-player candidates. A-players are largely “passive candidates.” This means that they're doing well in their current roles and aren't actively looking for a new job but might be willing to consider an opportunity that is better than their current positions.

What does this mean to the device company executive? It means that the company must absolutely be dedicated to identifying, targeting, and attracting these passive candidates as a large portion of a proper sourcing strategy.

A basic sourcing strategy should answer the following questions:

-Where might be these candidates be currently employed?
-How is it possible to identify the candidates within these companies?
-What’s the best way to approach potential target candidates?
-What is the “story” behind this opportunity, and why would a candidate be interested in leaving his current position for this new one?
-Where might these candidates be currently employed?
-How will we identify the candidates within these companies?
-How will we approach the potential target candidates?

Ways to Source
There are at least three ways to find potential A-player candidates:

Employee referrals. Utilizing existing staff members to recruit within their network is an exceptional and cost-effective method. This in-house method can be extremely effective at identifying strong candidates within employee networks and at selling candidates on the organization and its opportunities. 

Network referrals. Use professional and personal networks to get recommendations and introductions. It's best to clearly identify exactly how these contacts can help in recruitment. When asking for referrals, be detailed, but not overly specific, about the type of person being sought. Also ask them for introductions to people within their networks that are well connected and may know the target candidate. As with any networking endeavor, the key philosophy is to give first before you get. Always be willing to help people within the network or to return a favor, and people will be much more motivated to help out when their help is needed.

Engage or retain a recruiter. Using a recruiter can be an effective way to find A-player passive candidates. A good recruiter will want to get involved as early as possible in the recruiting process, meet with all of the stakeholders to get a good understanding of the role and the organization, and help to both define the candidate competency scorecards and drive the sourcing strategy.

One point cannot be stressed enough: Be selective about who is hired to recruit. Ensure that the recruiter is committed to successfully completing the search, fully understands the position, and has the philosophy that success means making the client company successful and delivering an A-player for the search.

Interviewing for A-Players
At this point in the process a number of candidates should be available for selection, but narrowing the list to the A-players is the key step. During planning, it is essential to define the interviewing process. Will it start with phone screening and then proceed to on-site interviews? How many on-site interviews will be required? Who will interview these candidates, and what interviewing methods will be used?

The book, "Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People," goes into extensive detail on setting up an interview process. This plan is extremely thorough. The author advises using a process that can last up to two days. While the importance of a strong interview process cannot be underscored enough, it may not always be realistic to spend this amount of time with each candidate.

Nevertheless, getting the good, the bad and the ugly out of the candidate is essential. Obviously, a résumé presents the picture that the candidate wants to convey, highlighting career successes and accomplishments. It doesn’t mention the bad stuff, e.g., a mistake that got a company a warning letter or the miscalculation that delayed a project by months.

Getting to know the real candidate is key, which is where the interview comes into play, but it often takes the right techniques to get the entire story. Most candidates easily present their best faces during the interview, and—too often—hiring decisions are made on that basis, with maybe a few softball reference checks.

How is it possible to get potential A-player candidates to reveal who they really are, warts and all? Topgrading describes an effective technique called “threat of reference check.” This method lets the candidates know that, as part of the interview process, the company will want to speak with their managers for each of their roles over the past 10 years. Then, an honest answer is more likely to emerge when the interviewer asks “how would your manager describe you?”

This interviewing technique can be extremely powerful when done properly. Take care to be sensitive in this process, and wait until a level of trust has been established before springing this question on a candidate. For example, it might be more appropriate to do this in the on-site interview as opposed to the initial phone screening. Some candidates also may not allow the company to speak with one or all of their former managers, sometimes for very good reasons. A hiring executive will have to use his or her best judgment in a case like this to see whether it makes sense to proceed with the candidate. 

There are many strategies that should be incorporated into making an effective recruiting process. The methods covered in Parts 1 and 2 of this series are just a select few topics and techniques on how to do it. Creating an A-player culture and a commitment to recruiting and hiring the best is not an easy task. However, it’s well worth it, because it may be the single most effective initiative device companies can take to ensure the success of their organizations—and their own careers.

Andy Rouse is a principal and recruiter with RG Search (Austin, TX.). He may be reached at andy@rgsearch.com.