Positioning Systems Blog

Would you like to know how you can tell an “A” player from a “B” or “C” player? It’s actually pretty simple. “A” player’s love accountability. They want to be measured. They want a score card on how well they are doing.  If you were to go through your current staff, ask yourself how many of them enjoy being accountable? How many truly would like to be graded on their performance and know how well they are doing each day, month, quarter and year?

If your current team is full of accountable types, consider yourself fortunate. 

A Topgrading scorecard when done right will quantify the key accountabilities that define A-level performance in a specific job and whether or not there is a good fit between the candidate’s competencies and this specific position. 

If you follow this, each position in your company should have a specific scorecard that has been developed to define what the key accountabilities are for that position, and what constitutes A-level performance. You might say we have that already; it’s called a job description. Most businesses have job descriptions yet most do not define the standards of performance that each position is held to, and even if they have some quantification they do not have what might establish an A-level performance standard. In essence what we are talking about is developing a grading system on how someone performs in their position. This is what you should have in place to determine whether or not a prospective candidate can reach the standards you want to hit.    

Secondly we must determine whether or not the candidate’s core competencies fit the specific position.  Each position requires a unique set of capabilities, capacities and qualifications to fit the specific requirements of that position. You know that, and in fact you probably have a good idea of what’s required and may have even seen it in someone who you worked with or worked in that position before. If not you will need to explore and investigate. The key here is that you must have a list of these competencies and a standard to what level the candidates can demonstrate their ability to achieve them in order to make a good decision on who to hire.

If you are reading this and saying to yourself, boy this would make sense to have on each of my current staff members as well, good for you!   Some of this is sinking in. One of the first steps you should take is to look at your current crew and determine how many A-level players you already have. That will require some type of scorecard, so in grading your current team you can be creating the scorecard you will use to either add or replace people to elevate your business with more A-players.

Would you like more evidence that "A" players make a difference in your business? Here’s a quote to consider, “Studies suggest that with knowledge workers, the difference in productivity between a top performer and an average or below average performer is over 100%, where as in assembly line workers it’s 20%. Since there are more knowledge workers today, better talent in these positions creates much more value.” Ed Michaels, Former Director of McKinsey & Company from The War for Talent Study.

The American Heart Association has worked diligently to increase the number of A players they have in their organization and have indicated an improvement of $50 Million dollars in contribution directly tied to their addition of A players in their organization.

Next blog will discuss the value of doing a talent review of your team. 

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Positioning Systems helps business owners and entrepreneurs transform their business.   We provide the tools and coaching to help you take control of your business -- rather then having your business control you.