How to Hire A-Players: Finding the Top People for Your Team - Even If You Don't Have a Recruiting Department

Conclusion: Keeping the A-Players You Hire

Recruiting A-players is not a second-class business problem that we delegate to human resources because we can't be bothered with it. It is a sustainable, competitive advantage that can move our company ahead of our competitors and help to keep it there. Remember, C-players don't typically become A-players, so you have to build a system for finding A-players. You can't simply accept the hand that has been dealt to you. Just one A-player—and certainly a handful of them—can transform almost any business.

While it's vital to find A-players, this won't be enough to take your company to the next level. You also must keep the A-players you hire—which means that you have to be an effective leader and coach.

I wrote this book in part because we waste so much time coaching people who can't rise to the challenges before them. When we hire A-players, we acquire people who can make big contributions and achieve significant goals. However, A-players have more career options than do weaker performers. We must therefore make it worth their while to stay employed with us. You want to build a great company. What's in it for your A-players? You need to have an answer for that question, or else they will go to work for someone who does.

A-Players Want to Work for Strong Leaders

A-players want to work for a leader who has a vision for the business and can tell them where they as top performers fit into it. A sales rep who works for a fast-growing distribution ...