Hire with your Head

Lou Adler
Hire with your Head
(Adler, 2007)
2007

Inside this HIRING IS A PROCESS, NOT AN EVEN T!

issue: For hundreds of years, Profiles, managers can ing a logical, systematic
hiring has been an event. attract the best candi- approach to getting the
P ERFORMANCE– BASED 2
HIRING Only recently has the dates for the job, pro- right new-hire in the right
INCREASING INTERVIEWER
lens changed to view hir- vide better hires, and place at the right time
OBJECTIVITY
ing as a process, taking help reduce future turno- every time.” (Tulgan,
P ERFORMANCE PROFILES 3
time and requiring ex- ver. foreword in Adler, 2007,
BENCHMARKING
perts in the area. In Hire Hiring mistakes p. vii)
T ALENT- CENTRIC SOURCING 4 with your Head: Using are costly. They waste ***
Performance Based Hiring company time, money,
WHAT CANDIDATES SEEK
to Build Great Teams, Lou and energy. Using tips
2-Q INTERVIEW PHONE 5 Adler (2007) provided from Hire with your Head
INTERVIEWS
sound advice on attract- (Adler, 2007), managers
CLOSING ing and hiring the top will learn what to look
E VIDENCE– BASED ASSESS- 6 job candidates. Inter- for and how to act to
MENTS
viewers frequently focus attract the best candi-
on the candidate’s quali- dates to be a part of
C OMPLETION 7 fications and interview their workplace.
skills rather than the job “What you’ll find
AFTR THE FIRST INTERVIEW
requirements. Using Ad- in this book is a step-by-
R ECRUITING, NEGOTIATION, 8 ler’s Performance-based step process with de-
& CLOSING
hiring and Performance tailed instructions for tak-
1 0 - FACTOR ASSESSMENT

GOLDEN RULES OF HIRING 9 WO RDS F RO M LO U ADL E R

R ECRUITING MISTAKES “No matter how hard you try, you can never atone for a weak
C RITIQUE BY KIM 10
hiring decision. A weak candidate rarely becomes a great
THOMLISTON
employee, no matter how much you wish or how hard you
work. Instead, hire smart. Use the same time and energy
P OTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS
L OU ADLER
11 to do it right the first time.” (Adler, 2007, p. 3)
D ISCUSSION QUESTIONS
 H i r e w i t h y o u r H e a d ( A d l e r, 2 0 0 7 ) Page 2

PERFORMANCE– BASED HIRING

Secret to success the Head (Adler, (Adler, 2007) because

2007), demonstrated it assesses a candi-
#1: don’t make a how most hiring is often date’s ability to get the
decision about based on chemistry, job, rather than to do
hiring in the first first impressions, emo- the job. To hire the best
tions, biases, stereo- candidate means
30 minutes of an types, the “halo ef- learning how the best
interview fect” (globalizing a people look for new
few strengths), and the jobs and how they de-
Most hiring mistakes tendency to hire in cide to accept an offer.
are made because of one’s own image. This is
first impressions and not recommended
personality. Hiring with Lou Adler, author of
Hire with your Head
6 STEPS TO INCREASING INTERVIEWER OBJECTIVITY (2007)
To increase objectivity changed to collecting judgement to make
during an interview, six evidence towards a fu- than a “yes”. A “no”
steps were followed. ture decision. Fourth, was, however, ac-
Initially, first impres- Adler (2007) recom- ceptable if it was
sions were measured at mended only giving backed by factual Gut
the end of an inter- partial voting rights to information about
view. Second, they each interviewer so that
suspended all judge- decision-making about
the candidate. feelings
To hire superior
ment of the candidates hiring was a collabora-
candidates, Perfor-
for the first 30 minutes tive process. Fifth, it
mance-Based Hiring
of the interview. An was necessary to de-
must be implement-
immediate “no” was mand evidence before
only given to complete accepting an interview- ed. The four com-
failure. Third, the inter- er’s “gut feeling” about ponents of Perfor-
view was seen as a a potential candidate. mance-Based Hiring
means to collect infor- Last, interviewers need- are: “Hiring is too
mation about the can- ed to make a “no” vote 1) Performance Pro-
files,
important to
didate rather than harder to justify than a
make decisions whether “yes”. Adler (2007) 2) Talent Centric leave it to
or not to hire them. believed this would re- Sourcing,
When the interviewer duce laziness and un- 3) Evidence-based chance.”
recognized they do not preparedness on the Interviewing,
(Adler, 2007, p. 5)
need to provide a yes/ interviewers’ part since 4) Integrated Recruit-
no answer, the focus “no” was an easier ing. (Adler, 2007)
 H i r e w i t h y o u r H e a d ( A d l e r, 2 0 0 7 ) Page 3

PERFORMANCE PROFILES

Secret to Performance profiles To do so, interviewers Specific

describe six to eight can create SMARTe per-
success #2: performance objectives formance objectives to Measureable
an applicant must ac- define the desired re-
Define superior complish to be success- sults. Action- oriented
performance ful. Here, the objective
Performance objectives
is to attract superior
need an action verb
Results
candidates by defining
(e.g., increase, change,
superior performance. Time-bound
A performance profile improve) and a measur-
clearly denotes the job able objective (e.g., environment
stretch and job growth. 10% in 90 days).

The fundamental difference between per-

formance profiles and experienced-based Hiring the
job descriptions is that the focus is on the wrong
output, rather than the input.
BENCHMARKING THE BEST
candidate
Benchmarking is a technique for sourcing, interview- wastes your
ing, and recruiting the best candidates. Studies have
shown that good interviewers: 1) Remain objective
throughout the interview, 2) Collect information about
time!!
multiple job factors, and 3) Use an evidence-based
approach to determine whether the candidate is mo- “To hire with your head, you
tivated and competent (Adler, 2007).
need to combine emotional
control with good fact-finding
Secret to success #3:
skills and intuitive decision
Benchmark the BEST and the WORST making.”
candidates to find out what to look for
and what to avoid.
(Adler, 2007, p.27)
 H i r e w i t h y o u r H e a d ( A d l e r, 2 0 0 7 ) Page 4

TA L E N T – C E N T R I C S O U RC I N G : F I N D I N G
T O P C A N D I DAT E S
Sourcing the top candi- wish to accomplish long ever, “If you want to
dates for a position -term goals or make hire great people, you
can be easy! The first major career steps. To have to find them
step was recognizing attract such applicants, first.” (Adler, 2007, p.
that top performers job descriptions must 98).
look for new positions be appealing. Compa- Employers should cre-
in different ways. They nies required attractive ate a proactive, talent-
were selective and only and appealing ads. It
driven culture through
consider positions that was the first impression aggressive, proactive
offered true opportuni- to prospective candi- sourcing.
ties. Top candidates dates. Remember, how-

Secret to success #4: “An ad needs to

Advertise on performance rather than skills overcome the
inertia of not
Secret to success #5: responding.”
Select on performance rather than
personality (Adler, 2007, p. 79)

WHAT TOP CANDIDATES SEEK

Top candidates are Second, they will con- Most, however, do not
looking for fulfilling sider the hiring manag- consider compensation
careers rather than a er and their strengths the primary drawing
job. When looking for as a leader. Third, factor. Only when the
a new job, they will they will consider the compensation is very
first consider whether quality of coworkers. high or very low does it
the job is a match in Fourth, they will exam- become the primary
terms of the challenges ine the company and consideration. Great candidates are will-
they are seeking and its initiatives. finally, ing to go above and be-
whether it offers the they may consider the yond to achieve greatness
opportunity for growth. compensation package.
 H i r e w i t h y o u r H e a d ( A d l e r, 2 0 0 7 ) Page 5

THE 2 QUESTION PERFORMANCE-BASED INTERVIEW

There are two ques-

tions to assess the ten
Q1: Can you describe a major career accomplish-
best predictors of on-
the-job success. They ment that best represents your work?
help the interviewer
understand a candi-
date’s past perfor-
mance and target their
thinking, planning, and Q2: If you were to get this job, how would you go
problem-solving abili- about problem- solving?
ties.
(Adler, 2007, p. 103)

PHONE INTERVIEWS: A PREVIEW

To reduce impact of first impressions, interviewers can conduct a telephone

interview prior to the face-to-face interview. Fifty percent of the face-to-
face interview time should be spent reviewing the candidate’s work history
with the remainder discussing one or two major accomplishments. Enough
information should be gleaned in 20 minutes to decide if the candidate is a
definite “no” and in the remaining 30 minutes there should be enough in-
formation to decide if the candidate is worth bringing in for a second more Phone interviews main-
intensive interview. tain initial objectivity
R E M E M B E R : S TAY O B J E C T I V E ! !

CLOSING THE INTERVIEW

Upon closing, the recruit- tractive when there is tion), and

er must remember three competition), 3) Ask the candidate
concepts: 2) Express sincere inter- what they think about Secret to
1) Let the candidate est in the candidate the position now that success #6:
know there are other (because you want they’ve have the in-
Listen 4 times more
people being inter- the candidate to terview to gauge
than you talk.
viewed (because think positively about their true level of in-
jobs are more at- accepting the posi- terest in the position.
 H i r e w i t h y o u r H e a d ( A d l e r, 2 0 0 7 ) Page 6

THE EVIDENCE-BASED ASSESSMENT

5 key steps to implement an evidence-based assessment process:

1) Evaluate all candidates based on the real job needs
2) Don’t give interviewers, other than the hiring manager, complete yes/no
voting rights
3) Assess all candidates using formal assessment tools (e.g. 10-Factor Candi-
date Assessment template)
4) Debrief all members of the hiring team prior to the beginning of inter-
views
5) Generalities, gut feelings, and intuition are unacceptable input for ranking
candidates
Past performance, poten-
INTERNAL tial & teamwork are the Using the 5 key
VS. basis for internal moves
steps will elimi-
EXTERNAL
this gap nate bad hires:
Profiles bridge
HIRING
Performance MISMATCHED HIRE
EXPECTATIONS
Personality and qualifi-
INCOMPLETE HIRE
cations dominate the NON-HIRE
selection for outside

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN AN INTERVIEW

 The talent and motivation to get the work done

 Ability to persuade, motivate, and cooperate with oth-
ers “Accurately
 Problem-solving and critical thinking skills assessing
 Past accomplishments candidate
 Planning, management, and organizational skills competency is the
 Environmental and cultural fit key to better
 Trend of Performance over time hiring decisions.”
 Character, values, commitment and goals (Adler, 2007,
 Potential for growth p. 137)
Secret to success #7:
The professionalism and quality of the interview are very
important in attracting top candidates.
 H i r e w i t h y o u r H e a d ( A d l e r, 2 0 0 7 ) Page 7

COMPLETING THE ASSIGNMENT

Since the first inter- acquired. This can be cates, employment his-
view provides an inter- accomplished using ad- tory, driving record,
viewer with less than ditional interviews, ref- criminal record. Adler
half of the required erence checks, and (2007) provided a use-
information, they must testing. A background ful checklist to fulfill this
remain objective until check must be complet- specific purpose (p.
further evidence of the ed on every candidate, 171).
candidate’s merits is e.g. degrees, certifi-

ADLER’S REFERENCE CHECKING CHECKLIST

 Determine the relationship to the candidate. Find out the titles of both the
reference and the candidate, how long the working relationship lasted,
and their most recent contact.
A third
 Obtain the reference’s current title, company, and the scope of the job in interview should
comparison to the job when the reference knew the candidate.
involve lunch or
 Determine the reference’s scope of responsibility by asking about the
size of their organization and the number of people on the staff. dinner, paid for
 Determine what the company environment was like– pace, standards of
performance, quality of the people, and the quality of the processes and
by the
systems. (Adler, 2007, p. 171) interviewer.

THE SECOND INTERVIEW

Second interviews pro- formatted around the second interview be-

vide an opportunity to performance objectives cause it allowed the
examine more careful- from the performance interviewer the oppor-
ly the candidate’s actu- profile that have not tunity to see what the
al abilities. Here, the yet been discussed. A candidate could ac-
interviewer must focus take-home case study complish.
on management, team, (homework for the can- A third interview
and organizational didate) was viewed should always in-
skills. This interview positively as part of a volve a meal.
 H i r e w i t h y o u r H e a d ( A d l e r, 2 0 0 7 ) Page 8

Recruiting, negotiating, & closing offers

A recruiter should not
make it too easy for a
candidate to get the
job.
Recruiting begins at the
first interview and pre-
sents the position in a
manner that compels
them to convince you
that they are the best
Remember:
candidate. Interview- from shopping around
ers must remember it is for better offers, and
about the opportunity 2) Provide the candi-
LISTEN four
offered. date with a compelling
Two of Adler`s funda- vision so they hope to
times more
mental recruiting princi- stay and work for your
ples were: 1) never company. than you
make a formal offer
until it is accepted to talk.
prevent candidates

What do potential candidates look for?

Recruiters must understand why candidates accept jobs and then
use this to their advantage. Candidates look for:
- quality of the job, - quality of the hiring manager,
- quality of the team, - quality of the company,
- future plans for growth, - compensation package

The 10-factor Assessment

When using the 10- (e.g., Motivation, Adler (2007) was
Factor Assessment, Technical Skill, adamant that Level
each interviewer Problem Solving/ 1 and 2 candidates
receives an identi- Thinking, Character not be hired. Level
cal form to fill out and Values) (Adler, 3 was considered
regarding the inter- 2007, pp. 142- to be a good can-
viewee. Each inter- 143). Following didate and Levels
viewer is assigned the interview, the 4 and 5 were to be
the task of evaluat- information is used hired immediately.
ing and collecting to label candidates
evidence regarding from Level 1-5,
specific factors with 5 being best.
 H i r e w i t h y o u r H e a d ( A d l e r, 2 0 0 7 ) Page 9

THE GOLDEN RULES OF HIRING

1. Prepare a performance profile before every new job requisition gets
approved.
2. Everyone must use performance-based interviewing techniques and ask
the two core questions.
3. Do not hire a candidate unless a group 10-Factor Candidate Assessment
template has been prepared with all hiring team members during a for-
mal debriefing session.
4. Do not hire level 2`s. (Adler, 2007, pp. 260– 261)

HIRE SMART. HIRE WITH YOUR HEAD.

RECRUITING MISTAKES

 Talking negatively about the position

 Being unprepared
 Being unprofessional
 Asking stupid questions
 Appearing over-eager
 Discussing money too soon, or too late in the inter-
view
 Discussing personal, ethnic, or family matters
 Demeaning the candidate or going overboard on technical aspects
 Waiting until the end of the interview to make an offer
 Waiting until the end to recruit
 Ceasing to recruit after the offer is accepted
WARNING:
Hiring is NOT just another “to do” task. Jobs change,
people don’t.

Secret to success #8:

Always finish the interview on a positive note!
 H i r e w i t h y o u r H e a d ( A d l e r, 2 0 0 7 ) Page 10

CRITIQUE BY KIM THOMLISTON

Hire with the Head (Adler, 2007) is founded, for the most part, in recommen-
dations supported by the material presented in Walker & Bayles’ EADM
826 course (University of Saskatchewan, Swift Current cohort, 2012) and
the course textbook, Human Resource Management (Steen, et al., 2009). An
example paralleled in both Adler (2007) and EADM 826 lectures was the
notion that money was not the main motivating factor for good candidates,
provided the money offered was reasonable. Good candidates sought
more from a job; they wanted a career and job satisfaction. Good candi-
dates enjoyed work, were driven by vision and mission, and were motivated
and inspired to continuously improve through their working relationships with Kim Thomliston, Masters stu-
colleagues. Both the text and book mentioned the necessity to do a thor- dent in the program of Edu-
ough background and reference check prior to hiring a candidate. This in- cational Administration at the
University of Saskatchewan
volved verifying the résumé and employment history, education, references
and, depending on the job, criminal record, personal credit history, and
driving record (Steen, et al., 2009). Further, the text and book both men-
tioned the benefits of subjecting a potential candidate to employment tests
to be better equipped to measure their actual ability as an employee.
Most importantly, however, the book, text, and lectures all outlined the im-
portance of hiring the correct person for the job. “An organization that ap-
preciates the competitive edge provided by good people must take the
upmost care in choosing its members. The organization’s decisions about
selecting people are central to its ability to survive, adapt, and
grow.” (Steen, et al., 2009, p. 173).

USEFULNESS OF THE BOOK

This book is a good resource for those involved in Human Resources (HR). It provided many practical
tools, such as the 10-Factor Candidate Assessment Templates (pp. 142- 143), reference checking
checklist (p. 173), interviewing and assessment checklist (p. 194), and Structured Performance-Based
Interview (pp. 284-285). These tools could be implemented immediately and do not require additional
resources or training, thus increasing the practicality of the book.
 H i r e w i t h y o u r H e a d ( A d l e r, 2 0 0 7 ) Page 11

POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVEMENT

The primary weakness of this book, however, was its lack of scholarly re-
search. Adler (2007) offered an abundance of recommendations and an- “To hire with your
ecdotes, replete with personal stories and examples of his journey through head, you need to
the world of HR. While undeniably there is value in his years of personal combine emotional
experience in HR, Adler’s opinion cannot be regarded as fact. Hire with control with good
your Head (Adler, 2007) would be strengthened greatly through the inclu- fact-finding skills
sion of current research in the field of HR. Despite the lack of scholarly evi- and intuitive decision
dence, however, this book is a valuable and practical resource for those making.”
working in HR as well as professionals working in other fields. (Adler, 2007, p.27)

AUTHOR LOU ADLER

Hire with your Head (Adler, 2007) is based on Lou Adler’s 40-year career
as a successful executive with Rockwell International and The Allen Group,
and as one of the top recruiters in the United States. His book has been
celebrated and used throughout North America and in many parts of the
world by a wide variety of companies and organizations including: Bose,
Verizon, Cancer Centers of America, Cognos/IBM, Broadcom, YMCA, and
the Inter-American Development Bank. For more information about Adler,
visit:
References
http://www.adlerconcepts.com/
Adler, L. (2007). Hire with
your head: Using perfor-
mance-based hiring to build
great teams (3rd Ed.)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley &
1. Should instinct have a part to play in hiring?What is your personal be- Sons, Inc.
lief about “gut feelings”?
2. What qualities do you have that make you a top candidate? Steen, S. L., Noe, R. A., Hol-
3. Do you think the Two Question Interview is an effective strategy? What lenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., &
elements do you like? What elements would you change? Wright, P. M. (2009). Hu-
man Resource Management
4. Imagine you are calling to check an applicant’s references. Using Ad- (2nd Canadian Ed.). Toronto,
ler’s criterion, create three (3) potential questions you could ask. ON: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.