You've probably been there. You hire someone who seems like a rockstar in the interview, but three months later, they’re a total disaster. It's frustrating. It's expensive. Honestly, it’s kinda soul-crushing for the rest of the team who has to pick up the slack.
Geoff Smart and Randy Street, the minds behind the book Who: The A Method for Hiring, argue that this isn't just bad luck. It’s a systemic failure. They call the stuff most managers do "voodoo hiring"—relying on gut feelings, trick questions, or that weird "airport test" where you ask yourself if you’d want to be stuck in a terminal with the person.
The A Method for Hiring is basically the antidote to that guesswork. It’s a rigorous, almost clinical framework designed to find "A Players." According to Smart, an A Player isn’t just a "good" employee; they are a candidate who has a 90% chance of achieving outcomes that only the top 10% of candidates in the market can hit.
That is a high bar. But when you realize a bad hire can cost a company 15 times their base salary in lost productivity and hard costs, the rigor starts to make a lot of sense.
Why Your Current Hiring Process Is Probably Broken
Most job descriptions are just "laundry lists" of duties. You know the ones. "Must be a team player," or "Requires 5 years of experience in Excel."
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Smart argues these are useless. They focus on the what instead of the who. If you don't know exactly what you want a person to accomplish, how can you possibly find the right person to do it?
The A Method replaces the traditional job description with a Scorecard. This isn't just a fancy name change. A scorecard defines the mission of the role, the specific outcomes that need to be achieved (like "increase revenue from $1M to $2M in 12 months"), and the competencies that fit the company culture. It's a blueprint. Without it, you’re just shooting in the dark.
The Four Steps to Finding an A Player
The method isn't just one interview. It's a four-part machine.
1. The Scorecard: Your North Star
You start by defining success. A good mission statement for a role should be written in plain English. No jargon. If your own team doesn't understand why the job exists after reading it, you’ve failed.
The "Outcomes" section is where most people get tripped up. These have to be measurable. Don't say "improve customer service." Say "increase Net Promoter Score from 60 to 80 by Q4." This creates accountability before the person even starts.
2. Sourcing: Don't Wait for Applicants
If you only hire people who apply to your job postings, you’re looking at a pool of "active" seekers. Often, the best people—the true A Players—are already busy killing it at another company.
Smart suggests a "systematic sourcing" approach. This means constantly asking your network, "Who are the most talented people you know that I should hire?" You do this even when you don't have an open role. You want a "bench" of talent ready to go.
3. Selection: The Art of the Deep Dive
This is the meat of the A Method for Hiring. It’s not about "chatting" with a candidate. It’s about data collection. There are four distinct interviews:
- The Screening Interview: A quick 20-minute phone call to weed out the obvious "B" and "C" players. You ask about their career goals and what they are actually good at.
- The Who Interview: This is the marathon. It’s a chronological walkthrough of their entire career. For every single job they’ve had, you ask: What were you hired to do? What are you most proud of? What were the low points? Who was your boss and what would they say about you?
- The Focused Interview: This is where you bring in other team members to dig into specific competencies from the scorecard.
- The Reference Interview: This is non-negotiable. You don't just call the names they give you. You ask the candidate to set up the calls with their former bosses. If they won't do it, that's a massive red flag.
4. Selling: Closing the Deal
Once you find an A Player, you have to convince them to join. High performers have options. Smart identifies the "5 Fs" that matter to candidates: Fit, Family, Freedom, Fortune, and Fun. You have to figure out which one is the "hook" for that specific person. Maybe they care most about Freedom (autonomy), or maybe it’s Fortune (the money). If you don't sell to their specific needs, you'll lose them to a competitor.
The "Who Interview" Is Where the Truth Comes Out
The "Who Interview" is probably the most famous part of the A Method. It can take three hours. Seriously.
The goal is to spot patterns. If someone says they left their last three jobs because their boss was an "idiot," guess what? They’re probably the problem. You’re looking for "Push vs. Pull."
A Players are usually pulled to new opportunities. Their old boss moves to a new company and calls them to come along. Or a recruiter finds them because their reputation is so good.
C Players are pushed. They are "let go" due to restructuring, or it was a "mutual decision." If someone has been pushed out of 20% or more of their jobs, the A Method says: Do not hire.
It sounds harsh. But the goal is to be 90% sure before you extend an offer.
Dealing with the "Voodoo" Habits
Let's talk about the stuff people do that actually makes hiring worse.
There's "The Art Critic," who thinks they can read someone in the first five minutes. Studies show this is usually just bias in disguise.
Then there's "The Prosecutor," who asks trick questions like "How many golf balls fit in a 747?" This might tell you if someone is clever, but it tells you nothing about whether they can actually manage a sales team or write clean code.
The A Method for Hiring forces you to stop being an "Art Critic" and start being a researcher. You’re looking for evidence of past performance, because past performance is the single best predictor of future success.
Actionable Steps to Implement the A Method
If you're tired of hiring mistakes, you don't have to overhaul your entire company tomorrow. You can start small.
- Ditch the Job Description: For your next hire, write a Scorecard instead. Define 3-5 specific outcomes.
- Master the Interruption: During interviews, candidates love to ramble. Use "reflective listening" to get them back on track. Say, "That’s a great point about the project, but I want to make sure we have time for your specific accomplishments there. What was the final result?"
- The "What Will They Say" Question: During the screening, ask: "When I talk to your current boss, what will they say are your biggest strengths and your biggest areas for improvement?" Use those exact words. It forces a level of honesty that "What is your greatest weakness?" never will.
- Verify Everything: If a candidate says they increased sales by 50%, ask for the numbers. How did they calculate that? What was the baseline?
Building a team of A Players isn't about being "lucky" with the resumes that land on your desk. It’s about having a process that is more disciplined than your competition's. The A Method for Hiring is a lot of work, but compared to the cost of a "Who" mistake, it’s the cheapest investment you’ll ever make.