Business Management Management Strategies
The Six Sigma of Hiring
July 1, 2008
By: Carrie Rossenfeld, Contributing Editor

Many real estate companies have taken a Six Sigma approach to finding the right hire, putting candidates through a rigorous methodology that weeds out those less suited to the task. Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., for example, employs Topgrading, an interview process created by Smart & Associates Inc. president Brad Smart, a former consultant for General Electric Co., which was an early and successful adopter of the Six Sigma business methodology. Topgrading helps companies find those candidates attracted to a position that focuses on outcomes rather than tasks.

The process includes job score cards, competency interviews, a tandem Topgrading interview that can last as long as five hours and career-history forms that require about 20 pieces of information beyond the typical resume, including explanations of gaps in employment. “It actually takes less time to fill a position this way because you’re not screening as many C players,” observed Jones Lang LaSalle senior vice president of human resources Monna Nevils. “It saves you time on the back end, and you’re hiring quality people. The results are off-the-charts better.” Jones Lang LaSalle began to implement Topgrading on one of its largest accounts, Bank of America Corp., last year and is poised to introduce it more broadly next year.

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