2. TOP GRADING: BOOK REPORT 2
Part I: Book Summary
Top Grading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best
People by Bradford Smart provides profound material on how to do exactly what the title says:
“Win”. (Smart, 1999, p. cover). Doctor Brad Smart explores and enlightens various aspects of
hiring, firing, and retaining that are insightful and helpful for employers, employees, and those
who are looking to get hired. Sixteen years later and his ideas, concepts, and methods are
helping millions of people get the results that they desire in the professional realm.
Compensation was a major theme throughout Top Grading. Dr. Smart calls on Human
Resources directors, early on in the book, to determine an accurate salary range, per position,
based on the talent that is needed to fill the position and the current market values (Smart, 1999,
p. 19). Companies will need to pay what it takes to get whom they need in order to compete and
win. He states that, “Top graders must determine the level of talent needed and pay hat the
market demands, even if internal equity might be jarred.” (Smart, 1999, p. 19). This theory goes
along with economic values that benefit the company. This idea also goes against some more
common theories of similar in-house salaries; however, Brad preaches ideas of “getting what you
pay for”. (Smart, 1999, p. 23). Another compensation topic that was touched on my Smart was
the cost of “mis-hires” and the costly affect they have on an organization (Smart, 1999, p. 46).
Smart supports his opinions by stating that, “studies have placed mis-hiring costs at three times
their annual their annual compensation.” (Smart, 1999, p. 45). These statistics prove the
importance of hiring the right people for the jobs at hand.
One of the main ways that Dr. Smart advises that companies avoid costly problems is to
avoid hiring the wrong people in the first place. Improving interviews is one way that Smart
suggests that companies get on the right track to getting the right people in their open positions.
3. TOP GRADING: BOOK REPORT 3
The method the Dr. Smart strongly supports and promotes is the CIDS method (Smart, 1999, p.
80). The CIDS method allows the employer to tailor the interview to the position so that the
interviewer is asking the right questions; which in turn leads to the right hires instead of mis-
hires (Smart, 1999, p. 78). Smart also approaches this from the future employee’s perspective
and urges them to really evaluate if the position is going to be a good fit for their skills,
personality type, and overall environment. Smart calls people to be “fair and honest” with
themselves, which will benefit the individual and the employer (Smart, 1999, p. 80). Ultimately,
mis-hires are very expensive and hurts the overall work environment and should be avoided at all
cost.
Dr. Smart teaches that Top Grading does not mean that you have to pay more than other
corporations for employers; it means that you just have to “pay smart” (Smart, 1999, p. 21). This
means that companies that are trying to implement Top Grading do not have to necessarily
extend their budget; however, it does mean that they might need to do some re-allocation of
money within the system. Smart gives all employees a grading of A, B, or C and instills that C-
players are the hardest to deal with because sometimes it results in their termination. Smart
realizes the necessity of this action in order to re-allocate money where it is best serving a
purpose and in order to change the company culture of success (Smart, 1999, p. 22). To put his
opinions very simply, Smart states, “C-Players suck the creative energy out of your
organization.” (Smart, 1999, p. 23). One idea that Smart suggests in order to retain some C-
players is the idea of “revamping”. This idea provides the methods of assessment, development,
modeling, and coaching in order to be able to retain some lower level players in a corporation
(Smart, 1999, p. 25). This method is great for a lot of employees who just haven’t reached their
full potential; however, some C- players are less hopeful. Dr. Smart warns that some C- players
4. TOP GRADING: BOOK REPORT 4
will just not be good enough for the new atmosphere and expectations of the company and will
need to be let go. Opposed to some peoples’ views on firing, Smart exclaims, “it is immoral
NOT to remove C- players”. (Smart, 1999, p. 73). Ultimately when revamping and replacement
within do not work, firing may be the only option if an organization is serious about Top
Grading.
Smart also talks heavily on the other end of the spectrum: A- players. As important as it
is to focus and notice the lower graded players in an organization, it is twice as important to
focus and retain higher graded employees. These A-players are crucial for a company because
they support the company culture and they provide great promise for promotions. Smart touches
on retaining A- players and promotes using incentives to retain these high players that are crucial
for an organization (Smart, 1999, p. 29.) Smart also teaches to use “competitive pay and stock
options,” in order to get the best and to retain the best (Smart, 1999, p. 29). Dr. Brad Smart
provides insightful and thought provoking material that is not only proved to be successful for
companies, but also helps individuals, one-by-one.
5. TOP GRADING: BOOK REPORT 5
Part II: Application of Concepts
One topic that Top Grading really highlights on is compensation. Smart relays that
compensation is important in order to get the A-players that the organization needs. One way
that Smart advises to do this is by using competitive pay (Smart, 1999, p. 29). One way that this
applies to in class application is through our research on CNN Money and the Cost of Living
Calculator. (CNN, 2015) The Cost of Living Calculator is not only useful to searching
applicants, but it also gives employers to ability to see what is a competitive compensation in one
area compared to another so that they can attract the best employees for their organization, no
matter the location. In this case, Smart’s ideas and propositions align directly with learned
material in Employee Recruitment and Selection.
Another topic that has been thoroughly discussed in Employee Recruitment is Writing
Job Descriptions. Writing Job Descriptions is necessary in order to avoid legal mishaps, attract
the “A-Players,” and to avoid “mis-hires”. (Smart, 1999) (Hughes, 2015). Doctor Smart and
Professor Hughes have supporting opinions when it comes to this topic. Both professionals have
taught the importance of the Human Resources positions because it is up to HR to bring in the
right people for the job. Writing an effective job description is a crucial step in the process
(Hughes, 2015). Smart and Hughes also teach that the job description is key when it comes to
the availability of firing options. Hughes advises things such as; “avoiding gender biased
pronouns and clarity,” in order to “provide a reference point for compensation decisions and
unfair hiring practices.” (Hughes, 2015). Dr. Smart’s ideas on job descriptions to hire and fire
clearly align with the teachings and resources of Employee Recruitment and Selection.
Another overall concept that relates from the book directly to the course and class is the
interviewing guidelines. Smart suggests using whatever it takes to figure out if an applicant is an
6. TOP GRADING: BOOK REPORT 6
A-player in an interview (Smart, 1999). One topic that was discussed and evaluated in class was
the Personality Inventory Exercise. This exercise provided a result, after answering several
questions, which told each student their personality type, as it relates to the business realm
(Personality Inventory, 2015). Class discussions from the inventory exercise led to how this
would be useful as en employer to know if an applicant is a great fit for the company at hand.
This practice would be a great way to support Smart’s ideals to hire A-Players that fit the
company culture.
Overall, Top Grading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping
the Best People by Bradford Smart really just reinforced a lot of topics that have been discussed;
however, this medium allowed students to apply learned material to an actual business forum,
which allowed for further clarification. The combination of Employee Recruitment and
Selection and Top Grading, has allowed optimum material and exposure for real-life application
in the business realm.
7. TOP GRADING: BOOK REPORT 7
Part III: Required Reference
Smart, B. (1999). Topgrading: How leading companies win by hiring,
coaching, and keeping the best people. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall Press.
Cost of Living Calculator: Compare the Cost of Living in Two Cities.
(n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2015, from
http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/
Hughes, C. (2015). Writing Effective Job Descriptions. OnCourse.
Personality Inventory Exercise. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from
https://resources.oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/attachment/SP15-BL-
SPEA-V479-30179/Assignments/55e304d6-9f3f-445f-b1f8-
bb9e0458c679/Personality%20Inventory%20Exercise.pdf
