How to Identify High Performers During the Recruitment Process

Recruiting high performers can sometimes feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. While resumes and qualifications offer a glimpse into a candidate's potential, they often fall short of revealing the true impact a person can bring to an organization.

Recruiters often struggle to differentiate between candidates who appear impressive on paper and those who have the potential to truly deliver results. This differentiation is crucial because hiring a top performer can greatly benefit your company through improved productivity, cost savings, and better performance.

So, how do you identify high performers?

In this blog, I'll share strategies to implement into your recruitment process to help you find candidates who will not only meet expectations but exceed them.

The Sherlock Holmes Interviewing Technique

One innovative approach to identifying these exceptional candidates is Lou Adler's Sherlock Holmes interviewing technique. Lou Adler is a renowned recruitment expert and author of the book "Hire With Your Head."

In this approach, Adler encourages recruiters to adopt a detective-like mindset when interviewing candidates. This means asking open-ended questions, probing beyond surface-level responses, and looking for evidence of past performance.

As Adler explains in his newsletter:

"Predicting a candidate's on-the-job performance often feels like solving a mystery. For me, the mystery was solved when I discovered that by focusing on what people DO with what they HAVE, rather than what they HAVE in terms of skills, experiences, and competencies, it was possible to more accurately predict their performance."

The Sherlock Holmes interviewing technique has three main components:

• Focus on accomplishments, not skills or experience

• Ask for specific examples and evidence

• Look for patterns of success

I highly recommend reading Adler's full article here if you'd like to learn more about this approach.

Look For Authentic Experience

Adler's approach to identifying high performers really resonated with me. I've been in recruitment for over 20 years, and in my experience, encouraging candidates to share their stories and highlight their accomplishments provides a tangible way to assess their suitability for a role.

Yes-no answers, while straightforward, rarely reveal the depth of someone's ability. What differentiates a high performer is their ability to describe a situation where they made a measurable impact.

Instead of asking yes or no questions, it's better to ask open-ended questions that allow candidates to provide context, explain their actions, and describe the before-and-after of their involvement. This storytelling approach reveals much more than surface-level responses ever could.

For instance, if a candidate tells you how they reduced costs in their department by 20% by revamping a critical process, it shows their initiative and provides solid evidence of their ability to drive change.

Using numbers and real-world examples adds credibility to their claims and helps hiring managers understand the potential impact this candidate could have in their organization.

Use the STAR Method

The STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, and Result—is another effective way to structure interviews and encourage candidates to provide detailed responses.

First, ask the candidate to describe a specific situation or challenge they faced in their previous role (Situation). Then, inquire about the task they needed to accomplish as a result of this situation (Task). Next, have them explain what actions they took to address this task (Action). Finally, ask about the outcome or results of their actions (Result).

By guiding them through this structured storytelling approach, you can help candidates present a comprehensive narrative highlighting their problem-solving abilities and the outcomes of their actions.

Provide Space to Encourage Reflection

Lastly, try to provide a comfortable and welcoming interview environment. This will help candidates feel at ease and encourage them to speak openly about their experiences, challenges, and successes.

It's also essential to listen actively and ask follow-up questions that allow candidates to reflect on their past performance. Sometimes, silence can be uncomfortable, but it can also allow candidates to gather their thoughts and share deeper insights.

You could encourage candidates to reflect on their accomplishments by saying, "We're interested in understanding how you approach challenges and your thought process, so feel free to share any relevant experiences."

This approach creates a safe, non-judgmental space for candidates to reflect on their past experiences and share their authentic stories.

Final Thoughts

Identifying high performers requires a combination of different strategies and a comprehensive understanding of what makes someone successful in a particular role.

Remember to keep an open mind and look beyond qualifications and skills when searching for top performers. The best candidate may not have all the checkboxes ticked on their resume but could still have something special that sets them apart.

As always, trust your intuition and use these strategies to help you find exceptional talent who will drive your organization's success.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you found this article helpful. If you have any tips or strategies you have found to be effective in identifying high-performing talent, I'd love to hear them. Feel free to share them in the comments below.

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