Why should I invest in quality psychometric assessment feedback to all candidates?
Why invest in quality psychometric assessment feedback?
‘What’s in it for us?’
You and your co-panelists have decided on the successful candidate from the field of talent presented to you.
If you have conducted a comprehensive process, it is likely that you have invested your time and money in many of the following:
- reviewing the position description,
- clarifying the qualities that you really need for this role, now,
- writing the recruitment ad,
- engaging a trusted advisory or a search firm,
- reviewing the applications from candidates,
- interviewing the short list,
- running the preferred/top three to five contenders through a rigorous and well-formulated psychometric assessment,
- being thoroughly debriefed on the assessment results by the provider/partner organisation,
- holding follow up interviews with the final round candidates, and
- contacting referees to quiz them on what the candidate is really like, whether they have really held responsibilities they have claimed, and whether they truly have a proven track record in the areas that matter most for your role.
So why should you consider more actions and engage the assessor to provide candidate debriefing once the preferred candidate has signed on the line?
Here’s our response
Debriefing a candidate after a psychometric assessment for senior leader and executive selection helps shine a light on their strengths and development areas, helping them understand themselves better and more equipped to make informed decisions about how to ensure that they operate at their best.
In our experience, providing a thorough debrief directly with the candidate is invaluable. Those who have this opportunity really appreciate receiving comprehensive information about the process and about their results. The debrief provides them with confirmation of their strengths, it will likely identify areas of focus for their development and any potential de-railers. It also provides an understanding of where their results sit in comparison to the selected norm group, which is likely to be a sample of other C-Suite and Senior Leaders across various sectors.
The MCA group approach
We provide the debrief over two sessions. We email the individual a copy of their personal report after session 1 and have a short second meeting to confirm their understanding once they have had an opportunity for a deep read of their results.
For the successful candidate
The professionally conducted debrief can:
- inform what they focus on in their own skillset as they take up their new role.
- very much inform the onboarding process.
- provide an excellent foundation for discussions that follow with their upline leader and, in the case of a CEO, with their Board.
- act as a great lead into agreed executive leadership support and coaching.
For an unsuccessful internal candidate
The professionally conducted debrief can:
- assist them to understand actions they can take to increase their chances of success for other internal roles.
- form a foundation for discussions that follow with their upline leader and negotiations for their further development as an aspiring executive.
- help close out the selection process in a positive and constructive manner: a vital step where talent pipeline management and talent growth and retention are key people risks.
For an unsuccessful external candidate
The professionally conducted debrief can:
- do many of the same things as above as they continue their own career journey.
- lead them to hold a more positive view of the whole experience with your company, affording you positive regard and strengthen the view of you as a people-centred organisation.
For your organisation
The professionally conducted debrief offers great value in enhancing the reputation of your organisation as an employer of choice.
Very often we see excellent candidates who are disgruntled with the search process:
- They may feel they have invested their time and effort into a rigorous process but have not been given any really meaningful feedback.
- They complain that they don’t know where they might have missed the mark and what they could work on to increase their success as they look to other roles.
Rounding out and giving all serious candidates for a role (any role) a professionally conducted debrief will contribute to your social capital.
We know that people are many times more likely to share a negative review than write a positive one.
It might not be immediately obvious how this translates to the bottom line and KPI’s. It is likely that an investment in this step will help you set and maintain your desired workplace culture and reputation.
If you would like to know more about:
- our approach to leadership assessment
- how to find the perfect fit for your executive team with our advanced psychometric assessments
- how our assessment can identify development and talent pathways for your current team
please click here to contact us.
