10 Tips to Make Sure You are Hiring an A-Player in 2025
Hiring top talent takes more than scanning resumes and hoping for the best.
A wrong hire slows everything down. They drain time, energy, and morale.
The stakes are high; a bad hire can cost up to 30% of the employee's first-year earnings.
The challenge is simple: most potential candidates look good on paper, they know how to talk in interviews, and they say all the right things.
But very few are true A-Players who align with your company culture and actually raise the bar.
This guide breaks down 10 practical tips to help you hire high-quality candidates who contribute, grow, and make your team stronger.
Here is what you will find:
How to refine your hiring process and stop wasting time on the wrong people
Tactics for improving your interview process and screening for culture fit
What to change internally to attract the ideal candidate consistently
Let us make sure your next hire becomes someone the entire team is glad to work with.
PS. Want tips on hiring top leadership, too? Check out our guide on How to Hire a CEO: Top Tips for Finding the Perfect Leader. It will lead you through interview process optimizations and culture fit assessments for your next leadership hire.
What Is an A-Player?
An A-Player is someone who consistently delivers, grows fast, and makes everyone around them better.
They take ownership, adapt quickly, and connect their work to team goals without needing constant direction.
You see it in their attitude, their output, and how they show up: prepared, focused, and coachable.
They align with your core values and bring real leadership qualities, even if they are not in a leadership role yet.
Only about 15-25% of employees qualify as true A-Players, leaving the bulk of your talent pool in B- or C-categories.
This is how Rick Crossland, a leadership expert and author, defines an A Player:
What About B-Players and C-Players?
B-Players (i.e., value sustainers) constitute about 70% of your workforce: they get the job done but rarely move the team forward.
They’re solid but not hungry, and usually stay in their lane.
In contrast, C-Players (i.e., value destroyers) form the bottom 10%: they underdeliver, miss expectations, and need constant follow-up.
Too many of them, and your sales team slows down, no matter how good your process looks on paper.
Aim higher, build your team around A-Players.
And that brings us to the next point: why hiring A-players changes everything.
What Is the Importance of Hiring A-Players?
You need someone who makes the job better, faster, and more valuable to the business.
Bringing in just one A-Player can set off a positive chain reaction across your business.
This is what A-Players unlock for you:
1. Less Time Managing, More Time Leading
A-Players are self-starters. They take ownership, spot issues early, and keep things moving without constant oversight. This means you can focus on strategic leadership rather than micromanagement.
Stat to note: Managers devote approximately 17% of their time to overseeing non-performing employees. That's nearly a full day each week that could be better spent elsewhere.
2. Elevated Team Culture
Working alongside high performers inspires everyone to up their game. A-Players set a standard that others naturally strive to meet.
Stat to note: Companies with strong cultures grow revenue at 4x the rate of those with weaker ones.
3. Tangible Business Results
From sales to strategy, A-Players deliver results that are visible in your bottom line.
Stat to note: Top performers in highly critical roles can be up to 800% more productive than their average-performing peers in the same positions.
4. Avoiding the Cost of Bad Hires
As mentioned earlier, the cost of a bad hire is significant. A-Players help you avoid these expensive mistakes.
Stat to note: A poor hiring decision can cost up to $240,000 once you account for recruiting, onboarding, lost productivity, and team disruption.
Now, before you put A-Players on a pedestal, here is the other side of the story:
A-Players Are Not Superheroes, They Are Focused Humans
A-Players are not perfect; they are just focused.
They became excellent by going deep in one lane: years of practice, feedback, learning, and refining specific skills.
That kind of growth takes time and a lot of saying no to anything outside their focus.
This is why most A-Players do not want to reinvent themselves in a role that ignores their strengths.
After everything they’ve built, they want to keep applying that skill and leveling it up.
You will not see them chasing ten unrelated goals.
But yes, there are rare exceptions. People like Dr. Jonny Kim, who somehow became a Navy SEAL, a physician, and an astronaut. Those stories stand out precisely because they are so unusual.
For nearly everyone else, sustained excellence comes from staying focused and going deep, not wide.
You already know A-Players deliver. But what does that actually look like when they show up in your hiring process?
That brings us to the next section:
Top A-Player Characteristics
Let’s summarise what sets A-Players apart so you know exactly what to look for when scanning through potential hires:
Pattern recognition over panic: They do not overreact to problems. They look for root causes, notice what keeps repeating, and solve for that, not just the symptoms.
Respect for process, until it blocks progress: They follow systems when they work. But they speak up and suggest better ways when something clearly does not. They are not rigid, they are results-driven.
Speed without carelessness: They move fast, but they do not cut corners. You will rarely have to clean up after them because they think through the consequences before acting.
Energy that does not drain others: They are confident without being the loudest. You feel more focused when they are around, not more stressed.
Clear personal vision: They know where they are headed. Their career goals are specific, and they choose roles that help them grow, not just keep them busy.
Boundary awareness: They understand what is theirs to own and what is not. They are not out to control everything. They collaborate cleanly and take feedback without drama.
Value-driven decision-making: They choose based on core values, not ego. You can trust them to act in ways that align with how your company operates, even when no one is watching.
Knowing what an A-Player looks like is one thing; actually finding and hiring them is where the real work begins.
So let’s get into how to do that:
How to Find and Hire A Player?
A-Players move fast, think long-term, and choose roles intentionally.
If you want to bring them in, you need to meet them where they are and make it clear your company is worth their time.
Focus your attention on the following:
Create Roles People Want to Share
A-Players gravitate toward clarity and impact. They want to see the “why” behind the role and the upside that comes with doing it well.
When your job posting looks like it came from a generic HR template, it gets ignored.
Write outstanding sales job descriptions with a strong hook, a clear direction, and purpose tied to results, not just responsibilities.
If it feels like an opportunity, people will talk about it and forward it to the right candidate.
In fact, half of all candidates view unclear job descriptions as a significant red flag.
Make Referrals Frictionless (and Worth It)
Top talent often travels in packs.
When one A-Player trusts your company, they are likely to recommend others, but only if the referral system is easy and the reward makes sense.
Go beyond a flat bonus. Offer tiered rewards, public recognition, or even early-access hiring windows for referrers.
Make it simple, fast, and worth their social capital.
Referrals are incredibly effective: Though only 7% of applicants come through referrals, they make up 30% of all hires. Referred candidates are also hired 55% faster and stay with the company longer.
Build a Hiring Brand That Signals Quality
Before applying, strong candidates will research you across your site, social pages, team bios, and even how you write your posts.
If it feels disconnected, sloppy, or full of clichés, you lose trust.
Show them something real: your values, your leadership team, and how you operate on a daily basis.
Let your hiring process reflect the same standards you expect from them.
Remember: 85% of job seekers look into a company’s reputation before submitting an application, and 47% have declined job offers because of a poor employer brand.
Show Up Where A-Players Pay Attention
You do not need to be everywhere.
You just need to be in the right places: targeted events, thoughtful LinkedIn content, or niche communities where top talent already hangs out.
Think beyond the job post.
Be visible in ways that show your team has a distinct vision, high standards, and strong leadership skills, which is what gets remembered.
Notably, 48% of job seekers research a company's culture on social media before submitting an application.
With that foundation set, now let’s move into the core section of this guide:
10 Proven Tips to Ensure You are Hiring an A-Player
If you want to hire A-Players consistently, you need a process that filters for the right traits at every stage. These 10 tips will help you build exactly that.
Tip 1: Start with a Clear Success Profile
Before you begin screening resumes or scheduling calls, define what success actually means in the role.
Use the ICCE hiring framework to guide this process.
It stands for:
Intelligence: Can they solve problems and think critically under pressure?
Coachability: Do they take feedback well and grow from it?
Character: Are they trustworthy, reliable, and aligned with your values?
Experience: Have they done similar work or shown the potential to succeed in this domain?
Together, these four traits give a more complete view than surface-level qualifications alone.
Write down the success criteria clearly and ensure every stakeholder uses the same lens when evaluating candidates.
That shared foundation helps keep your process fair, focused, and consistent.
Tip 2: Screen for Cultural and Value Alignment Early
You should not wait until final interviews to ask whether someone aligns with your company culture.
Build that filter into your early touchpoints: application forms, pre-screening calls, and initial assessments.
Identify whether candidates reflect your core values and demonstrate the kind of behavior that supports your team culture.
A-Players tend to be value-driven, but if you skip this step, you may end up with someone talented who still creates long-term friction.
As Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks, aptly stated:
“Hiring people is an art, not a science, and resumes can’t tell you whether someone will fit into a company’s culture.”
Tip 3: Use a Structured Interview Process
A-Players often know how to navigate interviews, but so do well-practiced B-Players.
The difference lies in depth, alignment, and consistency.
Without structure, interviews become subjective and make it harder to spot the real high-performers.
Turn your success profile into specific evaluation checkpoints by building a process with clearly defined stages and objective criteria.
Use employee scorecards to assess key A-Player traits: initiative, problem-solving ability, interpersonal skills, leadership potential, and role-specific excellence.
Structured, repeatable questions across all candidates reduce bias and ensure fair comparisons.
It’s no surprise that approximately 74% of HR professionals now rely on structured interviews when evaluating candidates.
Note: If you're rethinking your hiring process from the ground up, the right support can make all the difference. Check out our guide to the Top Human Resources (HR) Transformation Consulting Firms to find the right partner for your goals.
Tip 4: Look for Drive and Curiosity
A-Players are not defined by their past accomplishments; they’re driven by what they’re still hungry to learn and achieve.
Resumes show you what a candidate has done. But drive and curiosity reveal what they’re capable of becoming.
Ask candidates to describe how they’ve handled failure, changed course based on feedback, or pursued a goal without external pressure.
Look for signals of someone who actively seeks growth rather than waits for it.
If the person has the capacity for growth and is open to helpful feedback, you are far more likely to see long-term performance gains.
About 80% of executives believe that employees with a growth mindset play a key role in driving revenue.
Tip 5: Validate Claims with Work Samples or Projects
A-Players are rarely intimidated by small trial tasks.
Use short take-home projects, live problem-solving, or mock sales calls to validate their experience.
You’re evaluating their thought process, preparation, and understanding of what quality work entails, rather than seeking perfection.
This helps distinguish people who speak confidently from those who execute skillfully.
In fact, companies that implement work sample tests report an 82% improvement in the quality of their hires.
Tip 6: Include Peer Interviews in the Process
Feedback from the leadership team matters, but so does input from the people who will work with the candidate daily.
Peer interviews offer a more realistic preview of how someone will mesh with your team culture and workflow.
Unlike cultural screening in early stages, peer interviews reveal how candidates actually interact and communicate in realistic scenarios.
Be intentional about the questions you assign to peers: ask them to focus on collaboration, communication, and how well the person might contribute to team energy.
Just make sure the feedback loop stays structured and focused on performance, not popularity.
As noted by SHRM, 77% of job seekers consider that relationships with coworkers play a significant role in workplace engagement.
Tip 7: Don’t Skip Reference Checks, But Go Beyond the List
A-Players leave a lasting impression, but so do red flags.
Reference checks remain one of the best ways to verify whether a candidate consistently delivers at a high level.
Approximately 87% of employers perform reference checks as part of pre-employment screening. This shows how critical they are to the hiring process.
But surface-level praise from listed contacts won’t tell you enough about A-Player behavior.
Reach out to previous managers or colleagues who worked with them closely, even if they aren’t listed as references.
Ask direct questions about specific behaviors, leadership skills, and eventual performance, not just strengths.
It reveals how they show up: Do they raise the bar? Do others rely on them?
Those are the signals of a true A-Player.
The purpose is to find patterns in their career history that either confirm or challenge what you’ve seen in interviews.
Tip 8: Evaluate for Long-Term Potential, Not Just Immediate Fit
A-Players thrive in roles that challenge them and support career progression.
Your job is to figure out if this role stretches them enough to stay engaged over time.
A 2022 survey by the Pew Research Center revealed that 63% of workers who left their jobs did so because they saw no opportunities for advancement.
That’s especially true for A-Players as they always look for progression.
Ask where they want to go next, what kind of business problems excite them, and whether your environment offers that runway.
Look at career history for signals: Have they evolved in every role?
Did they outgrow the job or just move sideways?
A-Players want forward momentum. If they don’t see it in your environment, they’ll quietly move on.
Tip 9: Sell the Role, but Also Test for True Interest
Top candidates want substance.
Share the bigger vision, the company’s core values, the leadership team’s direction, and how the role contributes to real outcomes.
Then flip the lens.
Pay close attention to how deeply the candidate engages with that information.
Do they ask thoughtful questions?
Reference something specific about your business or team culture?
Talk about aligning their personal values with your mission?
Those signals show more than surface-level interest; they reveal someone evaluating the fit just as closely as you are.
As Simon Sinek (author and inspirational speaker on business leadership) says:
“If you hire people just because they can do a job, they’ll work for your money. But if you hire people who believe what you believe, they’ll work for you with blood and sweat and tears.”
TIP 10. Trust Patterns That Point to Excellence
Excellence leaves a trail, and A-Players are consistent across every step.
Watch how candidates show up: their responsiveness during the application, how they navigate in-person interviews, what peers say about them, and the themes that emerge in the reference check process.
Use an employee scorecard to collect these signals in one place.
When similar strengths or concerns surface more than once, trust the pattern.
A-Players reveal themselves through clarity, consistency, and follow-through, not charisma, charm, or rehearsed first impressions.
Research indicates that employees with clear role definitions are 53% more efficient and 27% more effective at work compared to those facing role ambiguity.
Turn Your Hiring Process Into an A-Player Magnet
Hiring A-players requires more than intuition or urgency; it demands a clear definition of success, a focused evaluation system, and the discipline to follow that process from start to finish.
From refining your interview process to recognizing real patterns of excellence, every step you take with intention improves your chances of bringing in someone who drives performance and culture forward.
Take what you’ve learned, apply it to your next hire, and raise the bar, not just for the role, but for your entire team.
PS. If you need outside support to find top-tier talent, check out our list of Top HR Recruiters, Headhunters & Executive Search Firms. These partners specialize in placing A-Players where they make the biggest impact.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the A-Player method of hiring?
The A-Player hiring method focuses on identifying top-tier candidates who combine raw talent with a strong track record of results. These individuals consistently deliver, align with your company’s core values, and elevate team performance. The approach uses structured interviews, cultural fit assessments, reference checks, and evaluations of long-term potential to ensure you're hiring high-impact performers.
How do you make sure you are hiring an A-Player?
Start with a defined success profile, use structured interviews, include peer input, and validate with projects or reference checks. Track patterns across their application process, not just one strong moment.
What is the difference between an A-Player and a high performer?
High performers hit numbers. A-Players raise the standard, align with team culture, and make others better. They show leadership abilities and think beyond just personal goals.
What red flags indicate someone is not an A-Player?
Look for shallow answers, defensive reactions to helpful feedback, poor interpersonal skills, or unclear career goals. Also, watch for vague outcomes and a pattern of short stints.
How do I hire A-Players effectively for remote or hybrid teams?
When hiring A-Players for remote or hybrid roles, prioritize candidates with strong communication skills, self-motivation, and a clear personal vision that aligns with your company’s goals. Ask about their experience working independently, managing across time zones, and contributing through async tools.
Is it possible to turn a B-Player into an A-Player?
Yes, but it’s uncommon. Growth depends on the individual’s willingness to pursue continuous growth and their openness to regular feedback. With the right mindset, some B-Players can evolve through leadership development programs and targeted support. But without that drive or coachability, most will stay in their comfort zone and fall short of A-Player performance.
What interview questions are best for revealing an A-Player’s mindset?
Ask about career history turning points, how they handle performance reviews, and how they approach team conflict. Look for honest conversation, not rehearsed answers.
How do A-Players typically impact team performance and company culture?
A-Players raise the bar. They bring consistent performance, strong interpersonal skills, and a clear personal vision that inspires others. Their drive for continuous growth and openness to constructive feedback help build a culture where the entire team can thrive.