Executive Assessment Should Be Mandatory
Bruce Sevy
Accountability and human error have changed the corporate landscape in recent history. The actions of Enron and Worldcom lead to a legislative shake-up, the effects of which are now really starting to hit businesses. The bottom line is very much king, and those who fall foul of investors or other stakeholders are paying a high price. Organizations are finding that their outspoken CEO could be more of a liability than an asset, and the executive board is under close scrutiny – not just from the city, but increasingly from shareholders and consumers alike.
Demands for corporate openness, accountability, responsibility and transparency are putting pressure on traditional business behavior and forcing companies to question the way they operate. To thrive in this environment new skills and behaviors are required from companies, and in particular their top-teams and leaders.
Now, more than ever, senior level appointments are perhaps the most critical decisions an organization makes. The cost of hire can be high and getting it wrong could prove disastrous. Recent research by SHL reveals that 66 per cent of businesses need to improve their leadership efficiency or risk commercial failure.
Objective assessment techniques are widely used by businesses for recruitment and ongoing assessment of employees across the board - from graduates to middle managers. But, until now, objective assessment has not had the same penetration amongst the executive management. However, in the current climate companies can no longer rely on the traditional methods of recruitment via word of mouth or the ‘old boys network’ at this level.
The recent appointment of James Murdoch as CEO of BSkyB brought psychometric assessment at the highest level under the spotlight - BSkyB had to show stakeholders that it had a credible selection process - even if some would say the end result was a foregone conclusion.
Research carried out by SHL Group* shows that HR professionals worldwide are now demanding that psychometric assessment is mandatory at the highest levels, with a staggering 68 per cent believing that CEOs should go through objective assessment as a matter of course. Interestingly, more people believe that company leaders should be tested than country leaders - 60 per cent of respondents think that their President should undergo the same level of scrutiny.
Three in five of those questioned believe that finance directors and non-exec directors should also face mandatory objective assessments. Unsurprisingly, close to 70 per cent of HR professionals believe that HR directors should undergo assessment. Sixty four per cent also think that Marketing and Sales Directors should be tested, whereas IT Directors and Operations Directors are thought to be least in need, with just over half believing that objective assessment should be compulsory for these roles.
I believe the only way to get the right person for the right job is by analysing what is required and then objectively assessing the candidates in light of that. This is not only scientific and accountable, but it reduces the kind of selection bias that companies must be seen to avoid.
Organizations need to know exactly what they need from an executive. Not just whether they have worked in similar industries or get on well with the chairman, but also if they can do the job in hand. Does your organization need a “leader” - someone who can transform a business, a more transactional CEO to maintain the status quo, or a “politician”, to satisfy large shareholders?
When should executive level assessment be used?
1. Appointment of a New Board Member
The Board’s performance is largely dependent on the capability of its members. Clear job descriptions should be written for all board members based on a thorough position analysis. This should lead to a person specification which defines the personal competencies required for the job. The definition of these competencies should take into account, for example, the required background knowledge and experience, appropriate decision-making style, fit to the board culture etc.
The process of assessing a candidate for appointment to the executive board typically requires the completion of interviews, tests and simulation exercises relevant to the person specification. Detailed reports should be written against the agreed person specification before the best-matched candidate is selected.
2. The Ongoing Appraisal of Individual Board Members
Performance reviews should focus on the behavioral performance of the individual director. It’s important to distinguish between factors which may be beyond the director’s control, and the measurable behaviour of the director against the agreed criteria.
3. The Ongoing Appraisal of the Board as a Total Entity
The appraisal of the board as a total team entity is difficult to assign to any single member of that team. On the face of it, this looks like an area of responsibility for the Chairman, but raises the question of the objective evaluation of the Chairman’s own contribution.
Truly objective reviews can only be achieved with the help of a specialist external third party, which would work closely with the Chairman in evaluating the board’s process of governance and which would have credible impartiality.
Of course, the process of assessment, evaluation and appraisal can provoke anxiety, fear and resentment. However, much depends on how it is done. If the process is relevant, fair and diplomatically handled, then participants come to value the process even where it may reflect developmental issues for themselves.
Articles
Finding Candidates
- 10 Reasons to Hire Vets
- Hire Older Workers
- Improving Candidate Quality
- Sourcing 101
- Sourcing Candidates Well
- Tips for Building Employment-Related Websites
- U.S. Employ of People with Disabilities: Free Workshops
- Virtual College Recruiting
Interviewing Basics
- 10 Commandments of Recruiting
- 5 Keys to Successful Hiring
- 7 Tips for Successful Phone Interviews
- Behavioral Interviewing Basics
- Contrary Evidence Questions
- Interview Questions: Do's and Don'ts
- Interviewing Opening and Closing Remarks
- Interviews: Common Weaknesses
- Mistakes Amateur Interviewers Make
- Phone Screen Interview Mistakes
- Probing Techniques Explained
- Screening Interviewing: Top 10 Red Flags
- Strengthen the Validity of Your Interviews
- Telephone Interviews: Basics
- Ten Bad Listening Habits of Interviewers
- Types of Interviews
- Typical Probes and Follow up Questions
- What Do Interviewers Need to Know to be Effective?
Interviewing Best Practices
- 7 Keys to Effective Selection Interviews
- A Closer Look at Behavior-Based Interviewing
- Advantages / Disadvantages of Interviewing
- Applying Core Competencies to Selection Interviews
- Are You Really a Behavior-Based Interviewer?
- Assessing Speaking and Listening Skills
- Best Practices in Interviewing Candidates
- Deadly Interview Mistakes
- Death by Interview
- Ensure Hiring Success in Every Situation
- Executive Assessment Should Be Mandatory
- Generational Interviewing
- Hiring Interview + Strategic Applicant Management
- Hold Evening and Off-Time Interviews
- How to Interview a Top Performer
- Improve your Interviewing Techniques
- Interview Questions to Assess Soft Skills
- Interviewing for Ethics
- Interviewing Millennials
- Interviewing: Business or Psychology
- Metrics Interview
- Peeling Back the Onion
- The Positives of Panel Interviews
- Time for Candidate Advocacy?
- Tips for Conducting Successful Interviews
- Two Critical Interviewing Questions
Laws & Documentation
- Applicant Reference Release
- At Will Employment Release
- Avoid Negligent Hiring Mistakes
- Employee Referral Program Metrics
- Fair Labor Standards Act Information
- Four Interview Questions Never to Ask
- Giving Employee References
- Hiring Compliance Guidelines
- Hiring for Small Business
- Interviewing People with Disabilities
- Job Denial Letter
- Legal Issues in Interviewing
- Minimize Employment Risks: Document
- SAMPLE Employment Policy
- SAMPLE Letter: Educational Records Check
- SAMPLE Letter: Reference Check
- Ten Safe Hiring Tools
- What is Negligent Hiring
Line Manager / Recruiting Partnership
- Defending Candidates to Hiring Managers
- Interlocking Core Competency Interviews
- Internal Application Process
- Making Internships Work for You
- Making the Case for Behavioral Interviewing
- Non-Traditional Merit Pay Alternatives
- OFCCP Definition of an Internet Applicant
- Why Managers Shouldn't Do Most Hiring
- Workforce Planning: Strategic Staffing Strategy
Post-Interview
Pre-Planning & Retention
- Bonus or Incentive?
- Brand-Building on a Budget
- Build a First-Rate Hiring Process
- Closing the Deal
- Compensation Plans: An Overview
- Conducting an Exit Interview
- Good Hiring Starts with a Good Job Profile
- Improve the Quality of the Employment Function
- Interview Process Problems
- Interview the Job Before the Candidates
- Job Description Template-Link Pay to Performance
- Linking Pay to Company Performance
- Selecting and Using Salary Surveys
- Succession Planning
- Succession Planning: Identifying Top Performers
- Using a Pre-Interviewing Questionnaire
- Winning the War for Talent
- Worker Shortage by 2010: Preparation
Reading the Candidate
- Beware of Those Who Boast
- Blind Man's Bluff
- Decision, Decisions: Choosing the Better Applicant
- Detecting Deceit in Interviews
- Little White Lies on Resumes
- Suspend Judgment Until the Interview is Over
Recruiting Basics
- College Recruiting Basics
- College Recruiting Essentials
- Cut Down on Interview No Shows
- Discouraging Low Quality Applicants
- Don't Hold Too Many Interviews
- Job Descriptions: Why are they Important?
- New Strategies for Screening Job Candidates
- Preventing Resume Overload with Questionnaires
- Resume Review Basics
- Test Validation Explained
- The Value of Person-Organization Fit
- Three Companies Cut Turnover with Tests
Recruiting Best Practices
- 25 Telltale Signs of the Wrong Candidate
- 5 Overlooked Ways to Hire Winners
- Asking the Right Recruitment Questions
- Attracting Your Competitor's Employees
- BPR.......for Recruiters!
- Candidate Engagement
- Cloud Recruiting
- Evaluate Your Capture Strategy
- Hiring Best Practices
- How Do You Attract and Retain the Best People?
- How to Attract Applicants to Undesirable Jobs
- How to Attract, Develop and Retain Best People
- How to Find and Keep Valued Employees
- Ignorance and the Human Condition
- Onboarding Success Secrets
- Secrets to Non-Profit Hiring
- Selecting Top Management Talent
- Semi-Active Candidates are Best Bets
- Six Core Selling Principles
- Skills Based Recruiting: When, not How
- Smart Choices: How to Hire the Best
- Strategy for Hiring the Best This Year
- The Uses and Misuses of Personality Tests
- Top 10 Employee Selection Mistakes & Solutions
- Treat Candidates with the Carbon Rule