Leveraging Assessment Centre for Targeted Recruiter Development

1. Leveraging Assessment Centre for Targeted Recruiter Development Anis Baig

2. Agenda Introduction Why Assessment for Recruiters? What is assessment and what it is not Where do you start Ground work How to do it Results Follow up actions Questions

3. Why Assess Your Talent Acquisition Team? Business drivers for assessing the team: • Best-in-class staffing organizations require a team of Recruiters with well-rounded skills aligned with the business needs • Complaints from the organization about Talent Acquisition’s lack of speed, quality or cost-effectiveness often link directly to the team’s skill set • Identifying individual strengths and development needs allows you to drive sustainable ‘fixes’ • An assessment and development center itself is a tool to teach standards and expectations

4. Why Assess Your Talent Acquisition Team? Purpose of assessment: • To develop the skills of each recruiter of the Talent Acquisition team • To provide honest feedback about their skills from an objective third party • To drive personalized development • To ensure team members are in the right roles

5. Goals of Assessment Center • Apply a series of simulations to directly observe team perform job related activities • Identify Recruiter professional strengths and opportunities for development • Provide feedback on how to further leverage professional strengths • Recommend professional growth opportunities through improving specific skills and abilities • Facilitate staff development and training

6. Recruiters’ Skills Determine the Effectiveness of the Talent Acquisition Function The Business Case for Developing Your Recruiters: Speed • Knows how to leverage technology • Identifies and uses personal and professional networks • Is creative and able to adapt, innovate on the fly

7. Recruiters’ Skills Determine the Effectiveness of the Talent Acquisition Function The Business Case for Developing Your Recruiters: Cost • Drives for results • Takes initiative • Influences effectively at higher levels

8. Recruiters’ Skills Determine the Effectiveness of the Talent Acquisition Function The Business Case for Developing Your Recruiters: Skills& Capabilities • Identification of individual strengths to leverage • Identification of individual needs to improve • Group training intervention needs identified

9. What it is: A “Day in the Life” simulation Focused on the critical skills One-on-one coaching Personalized feedback and development Tailored for internal relevance Recruiter Assessment What it isn’t: • NOTa training program. • NOT a test. • NOT a performance review.

10. Functional Recruiting Competencies Assessed Prioritizing and Managing Stakeholders Finding Candidates Assessing Candidates Intake with Hiring Managers Engaging Candidates Intake Meeting inbox Research and Sourcing Cold Calling Interview Influencing Hiring Managers Closing Candidates Offer and Close Debrief 45 Minutes 45 Minutes 45 Minutes 45 Minutes 60 Minutes 60 Minutes 45 Minutes

11. Recruiting and General Competencies Measured

12. Assessment Exercises Finding Candidates Managing Stakeholders Engaging Candidates In Basket Research and Sourcing Cold Calling 45 Minutes 60 Minutes 45 Minutes • Measures: • Establishing positive relationships • Communicating effectively in writing • Linking issues and requests to broader business needs • Demonstrating a bias for action • Managing time and prioritizing effectively • Measures: • Understanding the difference between passive and active candidates • Creating effective sourcing plans • Finding the right candidate for key roles • Leveraging technology • Thinking creatively about where to find talent • Measures: • Effectively planning for candidate interactions • Building rapport quickly • Ease of conversing with new people • Seeking opportunities to mine sources for candidates • Persistence in pressing forward despite challenges

13. Assessment Exercises Assessing Candidates Closing Candidates Influencing the Hire Debrief Offer/Close Interviewing 60 Minutes 45 Minutes 60 Minutes • Measures: • Effectively managing interests of candidates and the hiring manager • Tactfully negotiating positions, listening to both parties’ interests and needs • Creativity in problem solving • Influencing the candidate and the hiring manager with the goal of closing the position • Driving for hiring decision closure • Measures: • Identifying skills and capabilities needed for a position • Building a strong question set • Ability to identify strengths and gaps in candidates • Using thoughtful, probing questions • Listening carefully and challenging effectively • Making good selection decisions • Measures: • Exhibiting sound judgment • Using facts and insights to navigate conflict • Influencing others and guiding decision-making • Objectively presenting strengths and weaknesses of leading candidates

14. Recruiter Capabilities

15. The Outcome For Participants . . . For Leaders . . .

16. Linking the Assessment to Your Organization • Running the Program/Exercises • Participant and assessor schedules • One-on-one feedback and development sessions with personalized reports • Management summary reports • Linking the Recruiter Competencies • Review of literature, benchmarking from where they came • Validated competency model • Ensuring link to organization’s TA competencies and/or priorities • Tailoring the Development Materials • Language for situations • Focus on relevant positions • Incorporating organization’s leadership competencies where appropriate • Validating the Development • Review each exercise and evaluation guide with key leaders • External I/O validation

17. Methodology • Exercises conducted by subject matter experts/assessors • Each competency and exercise was rated on a 5-point scale: • 5 = Mastery • 4 = Very Good • 3 = Capable • 2 = Needs Development • 1 = Gap • Competency scores from exercises were average and placed onto a scale: • Professional Strength (3.50-5.00) • Effective (3.30-3.49) • Growth Opportunity (3.10-3.29) • Developmental Need (1.00-3.09) • Participants are given a report of results at one-on-one feedback sessions at the conclusion of the Recruitment Assessment Center

18. Accurate Assessment of Candidates 3.31 Applicant Needs Assessment 3.63 Builds Credibility and Trust 3.78 Candidate Care 3.78 Closing/Selling the Hiring Manager 3.88 Collaboration/Teamwork 3.94 Consultative Partner to Hiring Manager 3.94 Customer Focus 3.96 Effective Communication 3.85 Effective Interviewing 3.25 Effective Negotiation 3.42 Effective Use of Technology 3.00 Engaging/Closing Candidates 3.58 Hiring Process Management 4.00 Influencing Others 3.29 Locating and Identifying Talent 2.88 Network and Relationship Building 3.38 Prioritization and Time Management 3.25 Problem Analysis and Decision Making 3.34 Relating to others/building relationships 4.00 Relevant Knowledge 3.13 Strategic Focus/Planning 3.71 Understands the Business 3.44 Sample Competency Scores • Group scored highly and achieved “professional strength” ratings in 12 of the 23 competencies • They exhibited robust relationship building skills for candidates, hiring managers, and organizational partners • Their lowest scores were for locating and identifying talent and effective use of technology, which show an opportunity to improve sourcing skills • Other areas in which this team had lower performance include relevant marketplace knowledge, prioritization and time management, effective interviewing, and influencing others • This group demonstrated the most self confidence throughout the day; logistics were also far better, which could have impacted scores.

19. Recruiter Capability Results • Most Consistent Professional Development Needs: • Engaging and Closing Candidates • Locating and identifying talent • Effective Negotiation • Influencing others • Prioritization and time management • Strategic Planning and Focus • Effective Use of Technology • Relevant Technical and Marketplace Knowledge Overall Professional Strengths: • Relating to others/building relationships • Effective Communication • Customer Focus • Selling/Closing the Hiring Manager

20. Leveraging Professional Strengths The highest rated competencies demonstrate Recruiters generally have: • Excellent relational skills • Excellent communication skills The skills which need to be leveraged : • Quickly establish meaningful rapport with stakeholders • Build relationships to deliver additional support and services • Better influence stakeholders • Drive effective talent decisions

21. Key Developmental Observations The lowest rated competencies demonstrate Recruiters’ opportunities to improve: • Locating and Identifying – Recruiters showed limited ability to source, struggled to leverage technology as a research vehicle • Influencing others – Recruiters were managing processes without leveraging their positions to influence decision-making • Prioritization and time management – Determining what was most important and fully addressing critical components of exercises was an area for improvement • Strategic planning and focus- Often, the teams would lose sight of the strategic impact of their work and get lost in the transactional aspects instead • While there were overall strengths and weaknesses, individual teams exhibited differing professional development needs • At the core, the two macro themes emerged: “talent hunter/identifier/woo-er” and “strategic talent advisor” were gaps

22. Follow-up actions • Competency model /success profile for recruiters • Custom 360 feedback tool against competency model as a follow up measure to provide feedback on development progress • Leverage success profile for matching internal team to right job fit • Job aids and tools to support recruiters (“core capability” card decks, “motivational fit” decks, etc. to influence and facilitate Hiring Manager discussions ) • Predictive selection tools for hiring recruiters (customized structured interview guides) • Customized workshops and learning events • Accelerate good performance and close the gap on weak performance • Consider grouping sessions by skills gaps and / or business units • Leverage strengths for peer training

23. Feedback Survey • Participants gave very high ratings to the value that they received from the Recruiter Assessment Center • Exercises were seen as effective at measuring skills • Participants felt the exercises addresses areas important to their job success • The feedback sessions were seen as relevant and useful to improving their skills as talent acquisition professionals = Professional Strength = Growth Opportunity = Development Needed = Effective

24. Feedback from participants “Overall it was very positive and the feedback I received was valuable and most importantly I was given action items to start the improvement process walking out the door. Most people don't know (or want to know) their strengths and weaknesses, for me this was enlightening.” “The exercises were all relevant to our daily work activities. The instructors were excellent in role playing; and provided a detailed, easy-to-understand assessment at the end of the session.” “I felt overall that the entire exercise was productive.” “Fast paced exercise that certainly unveiled and/or verified my self-awareness. This is truly an event I would strongly recommend to anyone and any company! Thank you for the insightful, engaging and rigorous event.”

25. Outcomes Individual Development plan Alignment with role Movement form transactional to consulting Proactive stakeholder management Higher customer satisfaction

26. Questions