Topgrading

E63 | The Strength of Talent with Mike Goldman Great teams don’t happen by accident – they’re built through intentional coaching, clarity, and culture. Leadership coach and best-selling author Mike Goldman returns to explore the deeper drivers of team performance and why growing your people is the most powerful way to grow your business. Drawing on decades of experience, Mike unpacks a practical five-step framework to strengthen your team, boost engagement, and drive results. From Read More...

e63 The Strength of Talent with Mike Goldman

E63 | The Strength of Talent with Mike Goldman Great […]

Episode 21 | Foolproof Hiring with Chris Mursau A methodical approach to hiring can significantly improve the chances of selecting the right candidates, making the hiring process more effective, insists Chris Mursau. Chris has been consulting and teaching organisations and managers how to build teams of top performers. He’s conducted over 2,500 in-depth top grading assessments and training thousands in proven methodologies for hiring high achievers. Implementing change Read More...

e21 Foolproof Hiring with Chris Mursau

Episode 4 | The importance of effective hiring for A Players with Dr Brad Smart Listen here: In this conversation, Brad Giles interviews Dr. Brad Smart, the founder and CEO of TopGrading Inc. They discuss the Topgrading method for hiring A-players and the benefits it brings to companies. Dr. Smart shares his background and how he came to be passionate about helping companies hire high performers. He explains the definition of A-players and emphasizes the importance of spending time on the Read More...

04 The importance of effective hiring for A Players with Dr Brad Smart YOUTUBE COVER

e4 The importance of effective hiring for A Players with Dr Brad Smart

“Many people refer to a person as a good fit (they are still here) or a bad fit (they left). This creates a mindset problem when we think about new hires. We can then think that new hires are pre-determined to be a good or bad fit, and it’s outside our control. And worse, any effort to make them fit is a wasted effort. Because this mindset tells us there’s no point in spending time if someone is a bad fit. Hiring can be viewed as a “deal done”. We can consider that a good hiring Read More...

133 Onboarded – Why new hires that are a good fit are a problem (2 of 4)

What is onboarding, and why does it matter? In this first of four episodes, we’re discussing Brad’s new book Onboarded, how to bring new hires to the point where they are effective faster. We discuss what onboarding is, and what it isn’t. We cover how 83% of organisations aren’t realising the benefits of an effective onboarding process and why onboarding really matters to your team, and your results. Onboarded – What is onboarding and why does it matter? Read More...

132 Onboarded – What is onboarding and why does it matter (1 of 4)

What should you do when you have low numbers of candidates applying for open job roles? In this market, it could actually be good to have anyone apply for a job. And so we’re talking about how to have more great people apply for roles that you have open at your company. We talk about seven different tactics or tools you can use to bring in new candidates so that you can fill those roles. When you have low numbers of candidates applying for your open Read More...

103 When you have low numbers of candidates applying for your open roles

Topgrading is a hiring methodology from Brad Smart which is designed to provide you with a ninety per cent success rate when hiring and promoting people on your team. The Topgrading process should provide you with A player candidates, those who are in the top ten per cent of all candidates at the pay level you provide. There are several tools within the Topgrading methodology and this week we explain the methodology and each of the tools. Topgrading, hire with 90% Read More...

100 Topgrading, hire with 90% success

The brilliant jerk is a phrase that was made famous in the Netflix culture deck, and is also known as a toxic A player. The brilliant jerk refers to people on your team who are highly productive in their role, but they don’t fit. They don’t align with the behaviours or core values and they come at a high cost to the team. We talk about methods to deal with brilliant jerks, and the tools that are available to prevent them being such a jerk, and how to handle it if your efforts to Read More...

99 The Brilliant Jerk

What does the term A-player mean and are there different types of A players? The term A player can apply to any role and is determined by an individuals behaviours and productivity. Also, it is measured by similar individuals in similar roles at the pay rate you provide. Within the A player definition, there are four different types of A players and in this episode, we discuss each of the four different types of A-players and what can you do to understand them, categorise them and then Read More...

89 The 4 different types of A players

If you don’t have a team of A players there is a hidden cost that many leaders don’t consider. Many people consider the ability to get A players, or high performers to be elusive, or too expensive. Instead, it’s actually more expensive to not have A players, and in this episode we discuss the hidden cost, and the 5 key items that make up the hidden cost of not filling your team with A players. The hidden cost of not having a team of all A Players Episode Read More...

88 The hidden cost of not having a team of all A Players

With a war for talent being experienced worldwide at the moment, employers are not only finding it hard to find new people, but it can be difficult to retain existing people. This week Kevin and Brad discuss the 7 key things you can do to give you the best chance of retaining your A players. How to retain your top talent Episode 80 – The Growth Whisperers The Growth Whisperers is a weekly podcast hosted by Brad Giles and Kevin Lawrence two Read More...

80 How to retain your top talent

The Topgrading virtual bench is a recruiting tactic for executives who need a better way to find additional leaders or key team members. The virtual bench is important because it builds a list of vetted, pre-qualified candidates for a job opening that you can draw upon when you need to. In the episode, we explain why it’s important and provide a simple role-play on how you can cold call potential candidates to put them onto your virtual Read More...

69 What is a Topgrading virtual bench and why you need one

Employers often complain that it’s difficult to find staff and yet pay the same amount as the competition. However, if you consider the situation from the employees perspective, you can appreciate that if the pay is approximately the same, then many things you might not consider are actually quite important to a candidate. For example, the purpose of the organisation, the role flexibility, career growth opportunity, the manager or the organisation’s prestige Read More...

67 Why should anyone come and work for you at the same salary as your competitors?

One of the most important things necessary, if you want to build an enduring great company, is a process that draws people in like a magnet so that the best people really want to work for you. We do this well in the marketing side of our businesses, bringing in customers, yet we don’t do the same when it comes to attracting the right people. This second week talking about the People Magnet Machine, Kevin and Brad answer a Read More...

55 The People Magnet Machine

If you’re going to build a People Magnet Machine, a culture in your business that attracts the right people like a magnet, you must understand the real reasons people leave their job. Perhaps they tell you they leave for higher pay, but the data doesn’t support that in most cases. Instead, according to Leigh Branham, there are seven real, hidden reasons people leave. This week we discuss those seven reasons and Read More...

54 The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave

This week on The Growth Whisperers we talk about one of the most important parts of hiring a new employee. It’s called the Job Scorecard from Brad Smart at Topgrading and it’s so important to successfully hire. What we found over many years working with companies and seeing great hires and bad hires, is that often leaders are not clear enough upfront about what great looks like in a role. The Job Scorecard determines what Read More...

53 What is a Topgrading Job Scorecard and how do you use it?

This week on The Growth Whisperers we’re talking about the very first thing you’ve got to do in order to build a great business, to get the right people on the bus. Jim Collins said first who, then what. Before you consider what to do with your business, you must first have the right people in place. It sounds really simple, but there is a lot of thinking and work that goes into building an outstanding team of the right people that are going in the same Read More...

42 Getting the right people on the bus – first who, then what

Episode 37 – The Growth Whisperers The Growth Whisperers is a weekly podcast hosted by Brad Giles and Kevin Lawrence two advisors to mid-market businesses, one Australian, one Canadian, who each work with CEOs and Leadership Teams across the world with a mission to build enduring, great companies. Each weekly episode covers interesting situations and questions from the world of strategic planning, leadership development, talent and hiring in high growth Read More...

37 How to build your culture and attract the right people heading into 2021 (part 1 of 4)

Episode 22 – The Growth Whisperers The Growth Whisperers is a weekly podcast hosted by Brad Giles and Kevin Lawrence two advisors to mid-market businesses, one Australian, one Canadian, who each work with CEOs and Leadership Teams across the world with a mission to build enduring, great companies. Each weekly episode covers interesting situations and questions from the world of strategic planning, leadership development, talent and hiring in high growth Read More...