Unmasking the Truth

How to effectively discover whether you
have the right people

In ancient times, “truth” was defined as: fidelity, constancy or sincerity in action, character, and utterance. This still stands the test of time for assessing your staff today. When you hire someone, assess your people as part of a development programme or carry out a due diligence exercise on a target company, you are trying to find out the truth about the individuals. The majority of organisations rely solely on interviews alone and this approach is flawed on a number of levels:

Firstly, the quality of interviewer has a direct bearing on the outcome of the interview. Inexperienced interviewers often just try to seek out clones of themselves. This is often diametrically opposite to the desired result and causes incorrect conclusions.
A large proportion of people “interview well” but fail to deliver afterwards. Experienced interviewers can normally conduct in-depth questioning, probably on a competency basis, to dig deeper and gain a better outcome. However, more often than not this does not occur.
The urgency to fill a role often means that the selection process is short. Not enough time is devoted to checking out individuals properly and the number of actual interviews is reduced. Coupled with poor quality interviews, the likelihood of failure is high.

Many organisations rely on the reference checking process to weed out any “bad apples”. Powerchex is one of the better firms that does carry out a thorough checking procedure. However, references will not always highlight performance issues or culture fit issues. There are a number of tools which can be brought to bear which can help to take out the people risk. For example:

At the extreme end of the scale is graphology. Popular in continental Europe, this is the assessment of handwriting to determine character and behaviour traits. I have had limited experience of this approach but I can say that I found it fairly accurate in assessing a small sample of candidates. However, rather like witchcraft, a lot of people are put off by the methodology and seriously doubt the results.
Psychometric testing is a common tool and there are lots of products to choose from. The main reason people fail to use these tests is reluctance to invest the time, which, in my opinion, is a false economy. Building in adequate time before making a hiring decision or before buying a company and their management team can save a lot of money in the longer term. Most tests are available online and do not need to take more than 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Typically the results are computer generated. The final element - face to face feedback to the individual - is crucial but often ignored; not only are you obliged to give feedback under the code of conduct, but you can also gain additional information by discussing the self-assessment with the candidate.
Competency based interviewing is a strong tool. This technique is most effective if you use experienced interviewers with a clear set of hiring or assessment criteria. Interview questions are targeted onto specific activities and behaviours and require the interviewee to give detailed examples of what they can do or have done. It is not easy to evade the truth especially when answers are combined with body language assessment.
Role play or case studies is a popular tool, often used as part of an assessment centre. This approach is often included during a day of interviews and will not only break up the day for the interviewee, but also give assessors a good insight into actual behaviour. Relevant case studies with questioning often yield useful performance data.
Assessment centres originated in the military and were hijacked by commerce as a thorough way of assessing people. Typically, an assessment centre involves a variety of tools and techniques including interview, psychometric testing, role play and case studies and can last from half a day to three days - the norm being about a day. Many firms use them as part of the graduate recruitment process and others incorporate some form of multi-faceted assessment into talent development programmes. If carried out properly this is one of the most effective tools available. However, the main stumbling blocks are time and cost. An organisation needs to make a significant investment and requires a strong culture and stable business to make it work.

The aim of any robust assessment process is to get to the truth about people. An effective way to minimise the risk when recruiting is to outsource much of the assessment to the head-hunter or agency. In return for a significant fee, employers should demand more than just a CV landing on your desk. Asking for background checks to be made is an obvious way - but do bear in mind that the head-hunter will have their own agenda to ensure that you hire their candidate and so look out for the level of independence. Some firms offer psychometric assessment as part of the search. Finally, from a commercial perspective, it is in the interests of the search firm that the person you hire stays with you and is the right fit.

An example of a recent project where we used a combination of approaches shows how useful the process can be:

Background: a venture capital fund (VC) had targeted a financial services firm that they wanted to invest in. The initial business due diligence was carried out by accountants and lawyers. People Risk Solutions was called in initially to assist with the setting up of a complicated share-based compensation structure. However, during discussions, it became apparent that the VC needed to assess the 10 man management team as well as its human resources processes.
Management Assessment: we decided to use a comprehensive approach which included:
- Full reference checking including Criminal Records Bureau and Financial Services Authority checks. We used Powerchex to carry out this element.
- OPQ psychometric assessments for each manager. An online assessment was carried out by each manager using a web-based system.
- Having completed the OPQ each manager was interviewed by two consultants simultaneously, not only to feed back the results of the questionnaire, but also carry out management competency questioning.
- Finally the VC was provided with a detailed report of the findings including recommendations.
Outcome: some of the report recommended significant changes to the management team both in terms of responsibilities but also tenure going forward. The recommendations were agreed by both the VC and the target company. The result, six months later, was a stronger team and a more successful business.
“Lessons Learned”: the VC appreciated that a relatively small investment upfront was able to ensure a stronger likelihood of success for a multi-million pound investment. The management team were able to gain objective feedback in order to fast forward necessary change for the effectiveness of the business.

Conclusion

If you genuinely want to get to the truth behind the mask of the people in your organisation, or people about to join your organisation, you need to carry out a systematic assessment. Tailor the approach to suit the style and culture of the business. Do not rely entirely on a couple of interviews.

Biography

Andrew Pullman is a human resources professional and founder in 2006 of People Risk Solutions, an HR consultancy working with companies in all sectors; specialising in financial services. In 2008 he launched an online Learning portal as a joint venture with the “Here Is The City” group. He regularly writes for EFinancial Careers and “Here Is The City”, makes contributions to several magazines and national newspapers as well as providing expert commentary on radio and TV. Currently, Andrew provides strategic and tactical HR advice to a variety of clients across several industry sectors.

Previously Andrew was a Managing Director at Dresdner Kleinwort, the German investment bank. He was global head of HR for the Capital Markets business and responsible for training and talent management across the bank.

Andrew is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a Member of the Institute of Directors, a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Management Consultants and a visiting lecturer at Cass Business School.

www.peoplerisksolutions.com