1
Write the scorecard
The mission of the role in one sentence, three to five measurable outcomes for the first year, and the skills and traits needed to achieve them. Use the tool below.
■ · People
Hiring like a detective
A hire is one of the most expensive decisions a small business makes, and one of the hardest to undo. Most bad hires come from the same mistake: deciding on gut feel in the first ten minutes, then spending the rest of the interview confirming it. The fix is simple, and anyone can learn it.
Who first
Jim Collins's Good to Great found that the companies he studied got the right people in place before deciding exactly where to go. For a small business, one great hire can change everything, and one wrong hire can drain months of time, money and morale.
Start with the outcomes, not the job ad
Geoff Smart and Randy Street's Who recommends starting every hire with a scorecard: what this person must achieve, not just what tasks they'll do. "Keep the books" is a task. "Close every client's books by the 10th with zero errors found in review" is an outcome. Outcomes tell you exactly what to look for and how to judge the person later.
Structure beats gut feel
A large 2022 review of hiring research by Paul Sackett and colleagues found that structured interviews, where every candidate is asked the same job-related questions and scored the same way, were the strongest single predictor of job performance among the methods they studied. Job knowledge tests and work samples also did well. Casual, unplanned conversations are much less reliable.
■ In order
The hiring process
2
Find candidates
Referrals from people you trust are often the best source. Keep a running list of good people you meet, even when you're not hiring.
3
Screen quickly
A short phone call with the same few questions for everyone: what they want next, what they're good at, what they're not, and what they expect to earn. Rule out bad fits early.
4
Run a structured interview
Same questions, same order, for every candidate. Ask about past behavior: "Tell me about a time you…" Follow up like a detective: "What did you do next? What happened? What would your manager say about it?" Score each answer right after, before talking to anyone else.
5
Test with a work sample
A small, realistic task from the actual job. Pay for it if it takes more than an hour. It shows what they can do, not just what they say.
6
Check references properly
Ask the candidate to arrange calls with former managers. Ask specific questions: "What were they best at? What could they improve? Would you hire them again?" Listen for hesitation.
7
Decide, then onboard
Compare scores against the scorecard, not against each other's personality. Then plan the first 90 days: who trains them, what they'll learn each week, and what the first win will be.
■ Tool
Role scorecard builder
Build the scorecard before you post a job. Use it to write the ad, the interview questions and the 90-day review.
The BBG take
Investigate the candidate, not your first impression
Detective
Your first impression is a suspect, not a verdict. Look for evidence that contradicts it: work samples, references, specific past examples.
Sort the evidence
"Seemed confident" is an impression. "Found all three errors in the sample" is evidence. Score evidence.
No yes man
Have a second person interview and score separately before you compare notes, so neither of you just agrees with the other.
Tripwire
Set it at the start: "If the first-win target isn't met by day 90, we have a direct conversation about fit."
General education only. Hiring laws cover what you can ask, how you advertise and how you treat candidates. Keep questions job-related and check the rules where you operate.
Go deeperCase file, step-by-step how-to, common mistakes and questions to work through
Case file: The great interview that turned into a bad hire
A fictional example
Kevin owns a plumbing company with eight employees. He hired a new plumber after a 30-minute conversation that felt great: the candidate was friendly, confident and talked about football with him for ten minutes. Within two months, the new hire was late often, left job sites messy and had two customer complaints. Kevin let him go, and the empty seat, the overtime and the lost customers cost far more than the salary.
For the next hire, Kevin changed his whole approach. First he wrote a one-page scorecard: the three results the role must deliver (jobs completed right the first time, clean sites, customers who'd recommend them), plus the must-have skills and behaviors.
He then wrote six questions and asked every candidate the same ones, in the same order, scoring each answer from 1 to 5 right after. Most asked about real past situations: "Tell me about a time a customer was upset about a job you did. What happened, and what did you do?" He added a short paid working test: a half-day on a real job alongside his best plumber.
The candidate who interviewed most smoothly scored in the middle. A quieter candidate gave specific, honest answers and was the best on the working test. Kevin hired her. A year later, she was training new hires.
Kevin's lesson: "I used to hire the person I liked talking to. Now I hire the person who can do the job, and I find out by asking everyone the same questions and watching them work."
How to run a structured hire, step by step
- Write the scorecard first: the role's purpose, three to five results it must deliver, and the must-have skills and behaviors.
- Write five to eight questions tied to the scorecard. Ask about real past situations, like "Tell me about a time…"
- Agree what good answers look like before you meet anyone, with a simple 1-to-5 scale.
- Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order. Score each answer right away.
- Add a short, paid work sample that looks like the real job.
- Check references with specific questions: "Would you hire them again? Why or why not?"
- Decide using the scores and evidence, not just your gut. Then plan the first 90 days.
A reference check question that gets honest answers
"If you had the chance to hire this person again for the same role, would you? What would you want their next manager to know to help them do their best work?"
Common mistakes and how to fix them
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Hiring the candidate you liked most | Score everyone against the same scorecard and questions. |
| Asking "What would you do if…?" only | Ask about what they actually did in a real past situation. |
| Hiring in a rush to fill the seat | A bad hire costs more than a few extra weeks of searching. |
| No plan for the first 90 days | Write down what success looks like at 30, 60 and 90 days. |
Questions to work through
- Think about your best and worst hires. What did you know before hiring them that predicted it?
- What are the three results your next hire must deliver?
- What could a candidate show you in a two-hour work sample?
- Which of your interview questions are really just small talk?
- What will the new hire do in their first week? Who will train them?