Chris, I think you’re missing the point of Bob’s post. I don’t think any reasonable person argues with the importance and diligence required in hiring. Having gone through Bob’s The Results Based Hiring Process, I can attest to the stringency, depth and focus we’ve made in hiring. I’ve hired five people through Staffing Advisors and am in the process of hiring a sixth. I’ve never made better hires in my business life.

I’ve tried Topgrading and it didn’t work for me. I have nothing against the ideas represented, actually I think they’re quite good. In my work with small and mid-sized businesses (a market I’ve worked exclusively in for the last 25 years), I’ve also learned it’s very easy to use Topgrading terms without understanding them. I’ve worked with a raving fan of Topgrading, who talks all day long about the importance of “attracting A players and getting rid of your C players.” He does CIDs interviews, in-depth reference checks, etc. When I talk to him about the results that he needs from people to be successful, he’s vague at best – and often times articulates a result that does not cause success.

I’m sure you’d say that he’s not doing Topgrading correctly – and I’d agree with you. But here’s the fact, in any business – but small & mid-sized businesses especially – resources (especially time and energy) are scarce. We have to get more done with less (less time, people and money) and we need to constantly raise the bar. The question we should all be asking (and I’m sure you’re asking at HQ) is how can we get the same result in half the time. Even fans of effective Topgrading talk of the difficulty of mastering Topgrading.

I don’t view Topgrading or The Results-Based Hiring Process as an either/or proposition. Topgrading is better for some and Results-Base Hiring is better for others.

The argument isn’t “don’t do Topgrading because it’s too difficult” it’s don’t do something that you can do properly. You have to make trade offs and Staffing Advisors has designed a process that works extraordinarily well for small and mid-sized businesses.

Innovation is the lifeblood of growth – and our only chance of getting out of the economic mess we find ourselves – and I for one would like to encourage more people to find better alternatives to Topgrading and for Topgrading to find better alternatives to their models.