The Van Halen Method

This morning I read that Van Halen was known for rock diva irrationality because they insisted on having M&Ms brought backstage with all the brown ones removed. The authors explained that it was actually  a quick check: the contracts the band worked with included lots of technical details, and they figured that people who followed through on the "no brown candy" clause would also have paid attention to the technical specs.

It makes sense to do the same thing when you hire someone rather than doing a task in-house.

I don't hire designers who don't write html code that's easy to get into and work with. When I post a job at a freelance marketplace, I put in a phrase like "Please provide links to a similar project you've completed. Since we want to be sure of excellent communication, applicants who fail to do this will not be considered." If I were hiring writers, I would eliminate any candidates who weren't clear on the correct use of apostrophes.

Less eccentric than requiring an M&M sort, but then I'm not a rock star.

Are there items you can build into your hiring process to ensure that you're getting someone who reads the contract or specs and shows sufficient attention to detail? It could save a lot of trouble later.