How to Hire A-Players: Finding the Top People for ... - GIT home page

Three Steps to Creating an A-Player Team 49
other words, A-players often find it difficult to connect with an
employer that offers the pay, challenge, development opportunities,
and career path they want in a job. The VP of finance was right.
So keep in contact with A-players, even if they take a job with
someone else. They may come back to you if they find their new
employer is really an employer for B or C-players.
A-Player Principle: There are not that many great
companies and challenging jobs for A-players, so stay in
touch with every A-player you meet. Sooner or later, some
of those people will come back to you.
The Secret to Dealing with Poor Performers
If you require your managers to develop a farm team for their departments,
you receive a powerful additional benefit: your company
will get better at dealing with poor performance and inadequate
performers. Here’s how.
I once worked with a consulting firm that had a poor performer
in a key role. This individual had a chip on his shoulder, overvalued
his own abilities, consistently missed deadlines, and was difficult to
work with. The leaders and senior managers of this firm did everything
to try to turn this guy around: coaching, in-your-face performance
reviews, more focused job descriptions, increased handholding
on projects. Nothing really worked, yet it took them three
years to fire him. Why? Because they did not have anyone to take
his place. He was experienced enough to do some things well. Even
though he detracted from the firm’s performance in a number of
ways, he was the proverbial ‘‘warm body’’ that was better than no
body at all.
When your managers have a farm team, they have options. This
makes them more courageous and direct—especially with your
prodding—in dealing with subpar performance. Face it: most people
act in their own self-interest. If your department managers don’t