Getting Incentives Right For Great Hiring

There is a major disconnect from the statement that many CEOs make (some variant of "Talent is everything") and the reality that we see on the ground. Here are some ideas of how you can make sure you're walking the talk when it comes to great hiring.

1. Lead by example. Set a personal example of sourcing candidates. 
2. Make it clear that this is expected of all your top leadership at the company.
3. Consider putting "source one A-Player" on everyone's quarterly OKRs.
4. If you give a referral bonus for sourcing someone, make it very large and tie it to the person staying with the company for a long duration.
5. Demand that an internal Target (Results + Competencies) be created for each role before the search process kicks off.
6. Hold interviewing out as an elite privilege that is available only to talented high performers.
7. Demand that all interviewers go through rigorous interview training. This should include shadowing approved interviewers and/or receiving private coaching.
8. Find a way to reward (and hold accountable) interviewers for their quality of performance and adherence to SLAs (i.e. their timeliness in submitting ratings and notes)
9. Lead by example in fostering a culture of data curiosity. When someone advocates for—or against—a candidate, ask the following two questions. First, what aspect of the Target are we discussing? Second, what is your data backing this up?
10. Ensure you put the same level of care and thought into selling the candidate and giving them a great onboarding experience once you do make the decision to hire someone.