Zero Defect Hiring is a system for hiring that shows you how to predict winners and losers in the incredibly expensive people-reading game. Its creator, Dr. Pierre Mornell, calls it an almost fail-safe method for predicting behavior, which works for hiring all levels of employees, from unskilled labor to highly trained professionals.

It’s based on the premise that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior:

• Give an assignment to the candidate prior to the interview. Ask the interviewee to visit one of your offices, review some materials, or visit your website prior to the interview, and ask for his or her observations.

• Read resumes in teams. It’s helpful, and faster, to read the top candidates’ resumes in teams of three to five people. Teams that work well together are usually more accurate and insightful about potential employees than individuals are.

• Ask all your questions at once during the interview.

This strategy will:

• Put the candidate in a position where he or she must respond rather than having you sell yourself or the firm to the candidate.

• Forces you to refrain from talking too much during the interview.

• Forces you to watch the candidate’s behavior and listen to his or her words.

• Seek closure by announcing a five-minute warning when the interview will be finished. People invariably say something that’s really important at this point, regardless of the time already spent during the interview process.

• Pick a subject in which you are the expert to ask questions during the interview.

• Throw a few curveballs at the end of the interview. Do something unpredictable at the end of the interview, like walking the candidate to his or her car. Cars can tell a lot about people.

• Travel with the finalists for key positions. One trip is worth a hundred interviews. It reveals a lot about how a person handles himself or herself under “real world” conditions and interfaces with other people.

• Put potential problems on the table with your final candidate(s), such as family situations, health or benefits concerns, etc., to allow yourself an opportunity to propose some resolutions.

• Find creative ways to check candidates’ references because these can provide you with insight into a person’s strengths and limitations. For instance, ask references to call you back if the candidate was outstanding. Ask candidates, “What am I likely to hear, positive and negative, when I call your references?”