Best Practices in Hiring

Well-crafted job descriptions and smart telephone screening cut down on the number of candidates brought in for the extensive interviewing that TopGrading entails, says Vince Virga, CEO of SkillStorm (No. 8 Small), which also uses the method.

SkillStorm CEO Vince Virga (right) helps an employee “break through” her obstacles. At the company’s annual meeting, employees were encouraged to write their obstacles on a piece of wood and literally break through them.

Virga says a TopGrading goal is to have 90% of employees be “A” players and that the recession led him to let go of a few who weren’t. “A” players “expect us to hold everybody accountable,” he says. All employees at the Fort Lauderdale-based provider of IT, project management, engineering and other services are measured quarterly on a scale of 1 to 10 on their productivity and on living the company’s core values. Virga says the company adopted the method a year ago on the recommendation of a consultant and after reading an advice book for growing companies, “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.” “It’s a generally simple technique,” Virga says.

By using behavioral-based interviewing and multiple interviews for candidates, Inktel and SkillStorm follow the tenets of good hiring. Best practices in hiring are well known, but many companies lack the discipline to use them, says Jackie L. Greaner, senior talent management consultant for the Watson Wyatt Worldwide consulting firm. “Especially today you’ve got to have every single employee contributing and being as productive as you can make them,” Greaner says.

Inktel attracts the best from other call center companies, Morgan says. Part of the hiring philosophy is that “A” players attract other “A” players. “The great people will find you,” Arriola says. “They self-select into it. C-level people self-select out.”

Arriola says Inktel continues to hire as annual revenue approaches $30 million. The recession has led potential clients to abandon their status quo and look at outsourcing to save money and improve performance, benefiting Inktel. “We’re actually attacking it very aggressively,” Arriola says.

Hiring Practices

	— Bryant Miller Olive law firm in Tallahassee (No. 17 Midsized) recruits all of its law clerks and attorneys through personal relationships built by current employees. The shareholders have a set of core values, and the first one is: “Don’t hire jerks.” Randy Hanna Bryant Miller Olive
— Gainesville-based Crime Prevention Security Systems/Custom Home Entertainment (No. 23 Midsized) asks potential hires a series of questions designed to figure out their work ethic and what motivates them. “The skills are very trainable,” says Jorgia McAfee, vice president of operations. “As long as we hire the person who takes pride and personal satisfaction in doing a job well.” Jorgia McAfee Crime Prevention Security Systems/Custom Home Entertainment
	— Allen Waters, human resources director at Infinite Energy (No. 16 Large), says the simplest and most overlooked way to hire the best employee is to go to the trouble of checking references: “You would be surprised what you learn from listed references, and you would be amazed at the number of managers who don’t bother,” says Waters. Allen Waters Infinite Energy
— “It used to be that I could recruit a lot of people from the Midwest to come to Florida because the cost of living is very reasonable, but our cost of living is slowly creeping up,” says Ralph Garcia, a partner with accounting firm Pender Newkirk (No. 15 Midsized). “It isn’t as easy to lure someone to Tampa as it used to be. So we try to recruit people who have some connection to the Tampa Bay area.” The firm isn’t actively hiring, aside from college interns. Ralph Garcia Pender Newkirk