If you find it difficult to hire top talent and you’re often disappointed in the preparedness and work ethic of recent college graduates, there is a solution that works. It’s not as difficult as you may think, but changes in hiring policies — like most corporate changes — can ruffle some feathers. Follow these steps so you can make that change anyway.

1. Identify The Reality Of Employee Success

You want to hire more people like your existing top performers, right? So, defining success is the logical first step, but you might need to rethink your approach. If you’re like most tech leaders, employee performance is only a metric of results. The problem with that view is that hiring based solely on results is about as actionable as an autopsy. Look beyond the “what” and into the “why” of their success, and you’ll have the formula for successful hiring — and much more.

Identify what proficiency levels of behaviors are most common across your top performers but uniquely different than your bottom performers. These are the qualities that enable success at your organization.

Significant research identifies that up to 85% of the reasons for peoples’ success has nothing to do with education or experience. Success also has little to do with personality. It isn’t who they are that matters — it’s how they perform on the job that makes all the difference.

Find a behavioral assessment that is predictive for modeling existing staff.

2. Shift From Elimination To Inclusion Criteria

If you designed your job requirements based upon minimum standards for applicant consideration (specific degree, years of experience, etc.), it’s time for a major mindset reset. Ask yourself, “Did we choose these criteria because they are 100% proven to define success in this job or because we needed a filter to winnow down a stack of resumes?” If it’s the latter, that’s likely the No. 1 reason you are not getting the diversity of candidates desired — and it’s also why your turnover is high.