In this series of blogs, we’re going to outline three different approaches of using psychometric tests and associated assessment processes. This first blog outlines a case study of an assessment centre used to support the appointment of four different roles.
The recruitment challenge of a busy Director…
A busy Director contacted us, following the placement of advertisements for 4 key roles. They were under pressure to provide a seamless and robust process, whilst ensuring they appointed the correct candidate to the different teams involved. So they asked us to support their appointment process with an assessment centre. In addition to identifying key insights for each candidate, our focus was on looking for potential “fit” with some of the radically different teams.
Our aim was to triangulate the outputs from a number of assessments that looked at each candidate from a different perspective.
Pulling these outputs together, we sought to identify the skills, abilities and behaviours that were most crucial to success in each of the roles. Of equal importance was the need to look at potential team fit with each of the different teams. One of our experienced psychologists took a detailed brief from the Director. This discussion provided our psychologist with a good outline of the needs of both the roles and the teams.
Key Features of the Assessment Process
Based on the information gathered, we recommended a three-pronged approach. This included:
- An Emotions and Behaviours at Work Personality Questionnaire which looked at Emotional Intelligence within the workplace.
- A verification assessment following the profile, which contextualised and teased out additional information.
- An exercise with a group of stakeholders, where each candidate led a group discussion on a topic relevant to the roles. This was specifically to assess their ability to engage with and lead others.
- A written assessment. This involved responding to a complaint letter from a service user.
The Assessment In Action
We made personal contact with all of the candidates as soon as they had been shortlisted. We outlined the process and invited completion of the on-line questionnaire. The questionnaire itself takes about 20 minutes to complete.
Following completion of the on-line questionnaire, the candidates attended a 2-hour remote assessment centre. This involved the verification interview, the stakeholder group discussion and written exercise. All elements of the assessment process were facilitated by the Dearden assessors, and were carried out remotely. They focused on:
- Verifying the outputs of the personality profile. Teasing out further information about the key areas, and also other aspects of interest / concern in relation to the client’s identified needs.
- Identifying each candidate’s abilities to engage with and lead a small representative team.
- Identifying each candidate’s ability to respond to in a short time frame to a formal written complaint letter.
The Outputs
The insights gained from all three parts of the process were drawn together into personalised reports. The reports contained a short summary with recommended areas to explore further along with a more detailed report for reference.
Our insights, concerns and questions were also presented to the interview panel. This enabled the panel to explore potential team fit, particularly in relation to two of the candidates.
Successful Appointments
At the end of the process, the client successfully appointed into all four roles. The client explained that our support had alerted them to some serious concerns in one particular individual. They stated that having had the concerns highlighted by us in advance, they could see the potential problems reflected in the candidate’s performance during the interview. They also noted that our support had helped them to successfully ‘match’ the candidates to the needs of the teams.
If you would like more information about our multifaceted assessment centres, please contact viv.walton@deardenassessment.co.uk
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